Section 36-15-9. Collection of additional costs in court cases; amount; determination of need as prerequisite to collection; collection in certain criminal cases

   (a) For the purpose of providing funds for those uses specified in Code Section 36-15-7, a sum not to exceed $5.00, in addition to all other legal costs, may be charged and collected in each action or case, either civil or criminal, including, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, all adoptions, certiorari, applications by personal representatives for leave to sell or reinvest, trade name registrations, applications for change of name, and all other proceedings of civil or criminal or quasi-criminal nature, filed in the superior, state, probate, and any other courts of record, except county recorders' courts or municipal courts. The amount of such additional costs to be charged and collected, if any, in each such case shall be fixed by the chief judge of the superior court of the circuit in which such county is located. Such additional costs shall not be charged and collected unless the chief judge first determines that a need exists for a law library in the county. The clerk of each and every such court in such counties in which such a law library is established shall collect such fees and remit the same to the treasurer of the board of trustees of the county law library of the county in which the case was brought, on the first day of each month. Where fees collected by the treasurer have been allocated for the purpose of establishing or maintaining the codification of county ordinances, the allocated amount shall in turn be remitted by the treasurer to the county governing authority for said purpose on a monthly basis or as otherwise agreed by the treasurer and the county governing authority. The county ordinance code provided for in subsection (a) of Code Section 36-15-7 shall be maintained by the county governing authority. When the costs in criminal cases are not collected, the cost provided in this Code section shall be paid from the fines and forfeitures fund of the court in which the case is filed, before any other disbursement or distribution of such fines or forfeitures is made.

(a.1) In any county having a population of more than 550,000 according to the United States decennial census of 1980 or any future such census, the power and authority provided in subsection (a) of this Code section for the chief judge shall be exercised by the superior court judge who has the most service as a superior court judge.

(b) A case, within the meaning of subsection (a) of this Code section, shall mean and be construed as any matter which is docketed upon the official dockets of the enumerated courts and to which a number is assigned, whether such matter is contested or not.

(c) Reserved.

(d) Notwithstanding that provision of subsection (a) of this Code section which excepts recorders' courts from the requirement of charging and collecting the additional costs provided for by said subsection (a), said subsection (a) and subsection (b) of this Code section shall be applicable to the recorder's court of each county of this state having a population of not less than 200,000 nor more than 275,000 according to the United States decennial census of 1980 or any future such census.

(e) Notwithstanding that provision of subsection (a) of this Code section which excepts county recorders' courts and municipal courts from the requirement of charging and collecting the additional costs provided for by that subsection (a), subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section shall apply to any municipal court of a municipality if the governing authority thereof, by ordinance or resolutions, approves the charging and collecting of such costs pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this Code section.

(f) The sums provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section for actions, cases, or proceedings civil in nature which are filed in the superior courts shall be collected in accordance with the provisions of subsection (b) of Code Section 15-6-77.

(g) In counties where a law library authorized by this chapter has not been established, upon request of the county governing authority, the chief judge of a circuit shall direct that the fees authorized by this Code section be charged and collected for the purpose of the establishment and maintenance of the codification of county ordinances. However, the amount transferred to the county governing authority pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed the cost of establishing or maintaining the codification. The clerk of each and every court in such counties in which costs are collected for the purpose of carrying out the provisions of this subsection shall remit the same to the county governing authority on the first day of each month. The county ordinance code provided for in this subsection shall be maintained by the county governing authority. When the costs in criminal cases are not collected, the cost provided in this Code section shall be paid from the fines and forfeitures fund of the court in which the case is filed before any other disbursement or distribution of such fines or forfeitures is made.

Ga. L. 1971, p. 180, §§ 6, 9; Ga. L. 1973, p. 430, § 3; Ga. L. 1976, p. 700, § 2; Ga. L. 1982, p. 520, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 1982, p. 591, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1103, § 2; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 27; Ga. L. 1985, p. 999, § 1; Ga. L. 1987, p. 3, § 36; Ga. L. 1987, p. 843, § 2; Ga. L. 1991, p. 1324, § 6; Ga. L. 1993, p. 91, § 36; Ga. L. 1994, p. 237, § 2; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1923, § 3; Ga. L. 1997, p. 392, §§ 3, 4; Ga. L. 1999, p. 81, § 36; Ga. L. 2000, p. 865, § 2.