Powers and duties of boards

(a) The board is given the following powers and duties: (1) To provide for the collection of all money provided for in this chapter; (2) To manage, control, and direct such fund and the expenditures made therefrom; (3) To distribute the moneys coming into the fund in such manner and subject to such terms and limitations as the board, in its discretion, shall determine will best meet the purpose of this chapter in promoting the alternative resolution of disputes and the efficient administration of justice; (4) To contract for the investment, pooling, and expenditure of funds; (5) To adopt such rules and regulations as may be necessary to manage such fund and provide for such programs; (6) To keep records of all its meetings and proceedings; and (7) To exercise all other powers necessary for the proper administration of the funding mechanism provided for in this chapter. (b) In addition to the powers and duties listed in subsection (a) of this Code section, the board is authorized in its discretion to create a nonprofit corporation for the purpose of administering an alternative dispute resolution program and soliciting funding for such a program from any lawful source. The trustees or directors of any such nonprofit corporation shall be appointed by the board for terms not to exceed three years. (Code 1981, § 15-23-6, enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1529, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 874, § 4.) 15-23-7. Additional costs in civil actions for purposes of providing court-connected or court-referred alternative dispute resolution programs. (a) For the purposes of providing court-connected or court-referred alternative dispute resolution programs, a sum not to exceed $10.00, in 518 15-23-7 addition to all other legal costs, may be charged and collected in each civil action or case filed in the superior, state, probate, and magistrate courts and other courts within the county that have the same powers and jurisdiction as state or magistrate courts. (b) A case, within the meaning 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) The amount, if any, to be collected in each case shall be fixed in an amount not to exceed the applicable amount set out in subsection (a) of this Code section by the chief judge of the superior court or, if there is no chief judge, by the superior court judge with the longest service, who shall, after advising and notifying the chairperson of the county governing authority, order the clerk to collect said fees and remit them to the treasurer of the county fund for the administration of alternative dispute resolution programs. No such additional costs shall be charged and collected unless the chief judge of the superior court or such chief judge’s designee, or if there is no chief judge, the superior court judge with the longest service or such judge’s designee first determines that a need exists for an alternative dispute resolution program in one or more of the courts within the county. The chief judge of the superior court or the designee of the chief judge or, if there is no chief judge, the superior court judge with the longest service or the designee of such judge may propose, as to a given court, the collection of an amount exceeding $7.00, but in no event to exceed the applicable amount set out in subsection (a) of this Code section; provided, however, that approval of the board member representing the affected court is necessary before imposition upon litigants of that court of costs authorized by this chapter exceeding $7.00. (d) The clerk of each and every such court in such counties shall collect such fees and remit the same to the treasurer of the board of the county in which the case was brought, on the first day of each month. No change in the amount collected pursuant to this Code section may be made within a period of 12 months from the date of a previous change. (e) Juvenile court supervision fees collected pursuant to Code Section 15-11-37 may be used for mediation services provided by court programs pursuant to this chapter. (Code 1981, § 15-23-7, enacted by Ga. L. 1993, p. 1529, § 1; Ga. L. 1997, p. 874, § 4; Ga. L. 1998, p. 128, § 15; Ga. L. 2000, p. 20, § 4; Ga. L. 2013, p. 294, § 4-5/HB 242; Ga. L. 2014, p. 166, § 1/HB 438.) The 2013 amendment, effective January 1, 2014, substituted ‘‘Code Section 15-11-37’’ for ‘‘Code Section 15-11-71’’ in subsection (e). See editor’s note for applicability. The 2014 amendment, effective July 519 1, 2014, substituted ‘‘$10.00’’ for ‘‘$7.50’’ near the middle of subsection (a).