Section 37-4-82. Payment of expenses incurred in connection with hearings held under this chapter

   (a) Except as provided in this Code section, the expenses of any hearing held under this chapter by a court or by an administrative law judge, including attorneys' fees authorized by paragraph (1) of subsection (b) of this Code section and including expenses authorized by paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of this Code section, shall be paid by the county in which the client has his or her residence or, if the client is a transient, by the county in which the client was initially taken into the custody of the state. Payment by such county of the hearing expenses shall only be required if the person who actually presides over the hearing executes an affidavit or includes a statement in his or her final order relating to the hearing that the assets of the client, his or her estate, and any persons legally obligated to support the client appear to be insufficient to defray such expenses, based upon all relevant information available to the person who actually presides over the hearing. Such affidavit or statement may include the client's name, address, and age. The cost on appeal to the appropriate court shall be the same as provided for in other appeals from the probate and juvenile courts.

(b) Expenses of any hearing held under this chapter shall include:

   (1) The fee to be paid to an attorney appointed under this chapter to represent a patient at such hearing. Such fee shall be as agreed between the attorney and the appointing court but shall not exceed an amount determined under the fee schedule followed by the county when computing the fees to be paid to an attorney who has been appointed to represent an indigent criminal defendant, plus actual expenses which an attorney may incur and which have been approved by the court holding the hearing. In exceptional circumstances, the attorney may apply to the superior court of the judicial circuit in which the hearing was held for an order granting reasonable fees in excess of the amounts specified in this paragraph;

   (2) The fee to be paid to the court to defray the cost of clerical help and the cost of any additional office space and equipment required for the conduct of such hearing. In hearings conducted pursuant to Code Section 37-4-42 such fee shall be $20.00, and in all other hearings under this chapter such fee shall be $40.00, excluding attorneys' fees and expenses of the administrative law judge; and

   (3) The fee to be paid to an administrative law judge appointed pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (5) of Code Section 37-4-2 to conduct a hearing. Such fee shall be as agreed between the administrative law judge and the appointing court, but shall not exceed an amount determined under the fee schedule followed by the county when computing the fees to be paid to an attorney who has been appointed to represent an indigent criminal defendant plus actual expenses which the administrative law judge may incur and which have been approved by the court holding the hearing. In exceptional circumstances, the administrative law judge may apply to the superior court of the judicial circuit in which the hearing was held for an order granting reasonable fees in excess of the amounts specified in this paragraph. The $40.00 court cost authorized by paragraph (2) of this subsection shall also be authorized to defray the cost of clerical help and additional office space and equipment required for the conduct of such hearings.

Code 1933, § 88-2508, enacted by Ga. L. 1964, p. 499, § 1; Code 1933, § 88-2509.2, enacted by Ga. L. 1978, p. 1826, § 1; Ga. L. 1979, p. 1042, § 3; Ga. L. 1985, p. 875, § 2; Ga. L. 2011, p. 337, § 7/HB 324.