TITLE 36 LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Section 15. County Law Library, 36-15-1 through 36-15-13.

ARTICLE 2 COUNTY GOVERNING AUTHORITIES

36-15-7. Use of funds.

1. The money paid into the hands of the treasurer of the board of trustees of the county law library shall be used for the purchase of law books, reports, texts, periodicals, supplies, desks, and equipment and for the maintenance, upkeep, and operation of the law library, including the services of a librarian and, within the discretion of the board of trustees, payment for purchases made by a county's superior court, state court, probate court, magistrate court, or juvenile court, and for the purchase or leasing of computer related legal research equipment and programs, and, at the discretion of the county governing authority, for the establishment and maintenance of the codification of county ordinances. However, the amount transferred to the county governing authority for codification pursuant to this subsection shall not exceed the cost of establishing or maintaining the codification.
2. In addition to the uses specified in subsection (a) of this Code section, the board of trustees of a county law library shall be authorized to use funds to establish a law library or libraries for the judges of the superior courts of the judicial circuit and for the judges of the state court in which the county lies. A request for the establishment of one or more such libraries shall be made to the board of trustees by the chief judge of the judicial circuit with the assent of a majority of the superior court judges of the circuit or by the chief judge of the state court of the county with the assent of a majority of the state court judges of the county. Additionally, the probate judge, chief magistrate, presiding juvenile court judge, or any chief judge of any county court may make a similar request. It shall be in the discretion of the board of trustees of each county whether to grant such a request. Any one or more county boards of trustees in the judicial circuit may participate in the establishment of the law library or libraries and, for the purpose of such participation, may enter into agreements regarding the proportional share of expenditures to be borne by each county board of trustees. Purchases made from county law library funds under this subsection shall not duplicate the law books and materials supplied to each judge by the state or by other sources. Such purchases shall become the property of the judge who requested the purchase and shall be passed on to his or her successor in office.
3. In the event the board of trustees determines in its discretion that it has excess funds, such funds as may be designated by the board of trustees shall be disbursed by the board of trustees to charitable tax-exempt organizations which provide civil legal representation for low-income people; used to purchase software, equipment, fixtures, or furnishings for any office related to county judicial facilities or services, including, but not limited to, courtrooms and jury rooms; or turned over to the county commissioners and used by the county commissioners for the purchase of software, equipment, fixtures, or furnishings for the courthouse.
4. Except as provided in subsection (b) of this Code section, all law books, reports, texts, and periodicals purchased by the use of gifts and from the funds of the county law library shall become the property of the county.

(Ga. L. 1971, p. 180, § 7; Ga. L. 1973, p. 430, § 4; Ga. L. 1982, p. 1103, § 1; Ga. L. 1983, p. 3, § 27; Ga. L. 1987, p. 843, § 1; Ga. L. 1994, p. 1923, § 2; Ga. L. 1997, p. 392, § 2; Ga. L. 2000, p. 865, § 1; Ga. L. 2002, p. 785, § 1; Ga. L. 2010, p. 555, § 1/HB 858; Ga. L. 2016, p. 435, § 3/HB 851.)

The 2010 amendment, effective May 27, 2010, inserted "and, within the discretion of the board of trustees, payment for purchases made by a county's superior court, state court, probate court, magistrate court, or juvenile court" in the first sentence of subsection (a); and, in subsection (b), added the third sentence, substituted "such a request" for "the request" at the end of the fourth sentence, and deleted "of superior court or state court" preceding "by the state" in the next to the last sentence.

The 2016 amendment, effective April 26, 2016, substituted the present provisions of subsection (c) for the former provisions, which read: "In the event the board of trustees determines in its discretion that it has excess funds, such funds as may be designated by the board of trustees shall be granted to charitable tax exempt organizations which provide civil legal representation for low-income people. Any remaining excess funds shall be turned over to the county commissioners, and said funds shall be used by the county commissioners for the purchase of fixtures and furnishings for the courthouse."