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HB 936

Berlin, City of; Municipal Court; authorize assessment and collection of a technology fee

2025-2026 Regular Session Introduced by Chas Cannon

The bill allows Berlin Municipal Court to levy a technology fee up to $10 per eligible fine, restricted to funding court technology needs and subject to audits, with funds kept seg

Effective Date
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Bill Summary · HB 936

Overview

House Bill 936 (HB 936) from the 2025-26 Georgia session authorizes the City of Berlin to assess and collect a small technology fee through the municipal court. The fee is intended to fund the court’s technology needs and would be capped, time-limited, and overseen with accounting safeguards.

Purpose and intent

  • Authorize the Berlin Municipal Court to impose a technology fee on certain fines paid to the court.
  • Use the funds exclusively for the court’s technology needs, improving hardware, software, and related equipment and services.
  • Establish procedures for collecting, segregating, and auditing the funds, and set a sunset date to terminate the authority.

Key provisions

  • Fee level: The clerk of the Berlin Municipal Court may charge a technology fee not to exceed $10 per criminal and quasi-criminal fine paid to the court.
  • Authorized uses of the fee:
    • Computer hardware and software purchases.
    • Lease, maintenance, and installation of computer hardware.
    • Purchase, lease, maintenance, and installation of imaging, scanning, facsimile, communications, projection, and printing equipment and software.
  • Fund management:
    • Fees collected must be placed in a segregated account maintained by the clerk.
    • The account is subject to audit by an auditor approved by Berlin’s governing authority.
    • Funds may only be used for the purposes specified above.
  • sunset and disposition:
    • The authority to assess the technology fee terminates on July 1, 2030.
    • Residual funds in the segregated account shall remain dedicated to general City of Berlin technology uses.
    • If the city determines the funds are surplus, the clerk may transfer the surplus to the city’s governing authority.
  • Repeals: Conflicting laws are repealed to the extent of any conflict.

Who/what is affected

  • Primary: City of Berlin, Georgia, and its Municipal Court.
  • Beneficiaries: The court system and its technology infrastructure, funded by the fee payer (defendants paying criminal and quasi-criminal fines).
  • Oversight: Berlin’s governing authority (for auditing and approval of the auditor) and the court clerk (administration of the segregated fund).

Procedural and timeline aspects

  • Effective mechanism: The fee is set by the municipal court judge, with a maximum cap of $10 per eligible fine.
  • Duration: The technological fee authority is established to terminate on July 1, 2030.
  • Fund disposition: Any remaining funds at termination remain dedicated to general city technology uses unless treated as surplus and transferred by the clerk to the city’s governing authority.
  • Legislative movement: Passed through the House and Senate in the 2025-26 session, signed by the governor, and designated as Act 525 in 2026.

Summary

HB 936 enables Berlin’s Municipal Court to levy a technology fee up to $10 per eligible fine to fund court technology needs, with strict use restrictions, segregated accounting, and an audit requirement. The program is temporary, ending July 1, 2030, after which any remaining funds stay for city technology purposes or may be transferred if surplus. The bill includes repeal of conflicting laws and requires city oversight of the funding mechanism.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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