--- title: SB 618. Municipal Court of the City of Decatur; the assessment and collection of a technology fee; authorize collection: bills id: 2025-2026/sb618 cite_as: SB 618, 2025-2026 Regular Session (Ga.) canonical_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb618 md_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb618.md text_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb618/text source_url: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73888 date: 2026-05-11 status: passed corpus_version: bills-2026-09-13 license: Public record of the Georgia General Assembly, via LegiScan; see about.md publisher: Georgia Commons, an independent project of Georgia Civic Data. Not the State of Georgia. Not legal advice. up: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026.md previous: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb617.md next: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb619.md index: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md omitted: votes and history omitted_chars: 891 omitted_url: https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb618.md?full=1 bill_number: SB 618 session: 2025-2026 Regular Session session_slug: 2025-2026 chamber: Senate bill_type: bill status_date: 2026-05-11 last_action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 sponsors: - Elena Parent - Mary Oliver text_version: Enrolled has_text: true legiscan_url: https://legiscan.com/GA/bill/SB618/2025 upstream_id: 2129476 summaries_model: claude-sonnet-5 topic_tags: - court fees - local government funding - police technology - Decatur municipal court - public safety funding --- # SB 618. Municipal Court of the City of Decatur; the assessment and collection of a technology fee; authorize ## Text Senate Bill 618 By: Senator Parent of the 44th AS PASSED A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT To authorize the assessment and collection of a technology fee by the Municipal Court of the City of Decatur; to identify the authorized uses of such technology fee; to provide for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other purposes. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA: SECTION 1. (a) The clerk of the Municipal Court of the City of Decatur shall be authorized to charge and collect a technology fee as a surcharge to each criminal and quasi-criminal fine levied or charged by said court. The rate of such technology fee shall be set by the governing authority of the City of Decatur, and may be amended by the same from time to time; provided, however, that such fee shall not exceed $15.00 and that the judge of the municipal court shall be authorized to waive such fee on a case-by-case basis. Such fee shall be used exclusively to provide for the following technological needs of the court and the City of Decatur police department: (1) The purchase, lease, maintenance, and installation of computer hardware and software; (2) The purchase, lease, maintenance, and installation of equipment and software used for imaging, scanning, facsimile, communications, projections, and printing; and (3) Police department hardware and software, including, but not limited to, associated equipment for body-worn, mobile, stationary, or vehicle mounted cameras, drones and operations of 9-1-1 emergency response through its dedicated public safety answering point system. (b) Funds collected pursuant to this section shall be maintained in a segregated account by the clerk of the municipal court and the chief financial officer of the city, separate from other funds of the city, and shall be expended only for authorized purposes upon direction of the city manager. The funds may be used to reimburse the city's information technology department for services provided to the court or police department. SECTION 2. All laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed. ## Summaries written by Georgia Commons The following was written by claude-sonnet-5 from the text above and is not part of the bill. Quote the text, not the summary. A Senate bill would let the Municipal Court of the City of Decatur add a technology fee, up to $15, onto criminal and quasi-criminal fines to help pay for court and police technology. ### Plain-language summary This bill authorizes the Municipal Court of the City of Decatur to charge a technology fee as a surcharge on top of criminal and quasi-criminal fines. The Decatur city government sets the exact fee amount and can change it over time, but the fee can never exceed $15, and the municipal court judge may waive it case by case. The money raised must go only toward specific technology needs: computer hardware and software, imaging and communications equipment like scanners and printers, and police department technology such as body cameras, vehicle cameras, drones, and the 9-1-1 emergency dispatch system. The funds must be kept in a separate account managed by the court clerk and the city's chief financial officer, and spent only with the city manager's approval. The bill also repeals any conflicting laws. ### What it does - Authorizes the Decatur Municipal Court clerk to charge and collect a technology fee, capped at $15, added to criminal and quasi-criminal fines. - Lets the City of Decatur's governing authority set and change the fee rate over time, as long as it stays at or under $15. - Gives the municipal court judge discretion to waive the fee on a case-by-case basis. - Restricts use of the fee money to specific technology purchases for the court and police department, including computers, imaging equipment, and police cameras and drones. - Requires the fee revenue to be kept in a separate account overseen by the court clerk and the city's chief financial officer, spent only with the city manager's approval. ### Who it affects People fined in the Municipal Court of the City of Decatur for criminal or quasi-criminal offenses, the court clerk and judge, the City of Decatur's finance department and city manager, and the Decatur police department, which would benefit from the technology funded by the fee. ### Why it matters Anyone fined in Decatur's municipal court could pay up to $15 more per case, though judges can waive it. The money would fund specific upgrades like police body cameras, drones, and the city's 9-1-1 dispatch system, changing how those tools get paid for. ### Key provisions - Section 1(a) authorizes the fee as a surcharge on fines, caps it at $15, lets the city set and adjust the exact rate, and allows judicial waivers case by case. - Section 1(a) lists three allowed uses: computer hardware and software, imaging and communications equipment, and police department technology including cameras, drones, and 9-1-1 systems. - Section 1(b) requires the funds be kept in a segregated account managed by the court clerk and city chief financial officer and spent only on city manager's direction. - Section 1(b) allows the funds to reimburse the city's information technology department for services to the court or police. - Section 2 repeals any conflicting laws. ## Status - Status: Passed (2026-05-11) - Last action: Effective Date 2026-05-11 (2026-05-11) - Sponsors: Elena Parent, Mary Oliver - Official page: https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/73888 > The history, votes, and amendments (891 characters) are at https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/sb618.md?full=1