HB 41 reduces the fee paid to the superior court clerks for preparing trial records for appeal from $10.00 per page to $1.00 per page. This bill also provides that the judicial operations fund fee will not apply to the issuance of certificate of appointment or reappointment of notaries public.

The clerk of superior court is required to provide an exact copy of the record (not to include the transcript) in all capital criminal cases where there was a conviction at no cost to the Attorney General's Office.

HB 114 provides that the fee for filing affidavits relating to the lien foreclosures on abandoned motor vehicles will be $10, as is provided in current statute, and no additional fees, such as the judicial operations fund, and other surcharges will be added.  Also adds a new section defining the contents of that can be retrieved from an impounded motor vehicle.

Under current law, certain fees are collected by the superior court clerks in conjunction with recording certain property records that are given to the Georgia Superior Court Clerks' Cooperative Authority to help fund a state-wide uniform automated information system.  This funding mechanism is scheduled to terminate on July 1, 2014.  HB 198 eliminates this sunset. This bill was signed by the Governor on April 16, 2012.

This bill creates the 2011 Special Council on Criminal Justice Reform for Georgians to study Georgia's criminal justice and correction system to enhance public safety, reduce victimization, hold offenders more accountable, enhance probation and parole supervision and better manage a growing prison population. The Council would create a report of its findings and recommend legislation no later than January 9, 2012. The Council's recommendations would then be considered by a Special Joint Committee on Georgia Criminal Justice Reform. The joint committee would cause legislation to be introduced incorporating the recommendations without significant changes.

HB 270 requires that elections for sheriff, district attorney and solicitor be by nonpartisan election. It also allows the General Assembly to enact local legislation to allow any other county elected office - including county commissioner - to be nonpartisan.

This bill requires the Department of Corrections to accept electronically submitted sentencing packages on criminal defendants who have been sentenced to serve time in the state prison system. If the inmate is not picked up within 15 days of the Department receiving the sentencing package, then it would be responsible for paying a per diem to the county to help cover some of the costs to the property taxpayers of housing the state inmate in the county jail. This bill would reflect the current the per diem of $22.00 per day in the statute.

This bill eliminates the tiered surcharge on traffic fines to fund probate judges retirement.  There will now be a $3.00 surcharge on every traffic case.

This bill extends the $5,000 death benefit from clerks who die in office to retired clerks.

This bill would change the amount that a chief deputy clerks of court who become clerk of court has to pay to get credit for prior service. Instead of paying the full actuarial cost of the prior service, the clerks would pay $100 per month.

This bill provides for the comprehensive regulation of theft of regulated metal property. Specifically, it requires all felony convictions for the theft of regulated metal property to be registered with the metal theft registry to be created by the Georgia Technology Authority. It also requires that subsequent convictions occurring within a five year period must be posted in the legal organ, at the expense of the convicted person. It further provides for the suspension of  driver's licenses and the forfeiture of motor vehicles, weapons and tools used in the commission of a metal theft crime.

SB 69 permits the General Assembly to pass local legislation to allow for county commissioners to be elected in non-partisan elections.

SB 73 would allow the General Assembly to enact local legislation permitting court clerks to seek election in a nonpartisan election.

This bill requires the superior court clerk to establish and maintain a postforeclosure registry.  Within 10 days of purchasing property at a foreclosure sale, the purchaser must file his or her mailing address and telephone number.  The purchaser is required to update this information with in five days of any change.  county code enforcement officers can use this information to send notices of ordinance violations.

The bill also provides that any property owner who does not correct a code violation within 48 days will be subject to a fine of $100 per day in addition to any other fine imposed by the county's ordinance. Failure to pay this $100 per day fine allows the county to file a lien against the property in the same way that a tax lien is created and foreclosed.