by Jameelah Mullen
June 5, 2025
Not solely is it authorized in Georgia, it is a frequent observe.
A Fulton County (GA) Superior Courtroom Clerk is going through backlash for holding over $150,000 in passport charges collected from processing passports legally.
In a letter to Fulton County commissioners, Che Alexander said that her workplace processed greater than 4,200 passport functions within the first quarter of this 12 months, leading to a complete of $697,000. Of that, she stored $150,010.
A Georgia regulation permits superior court docket clerks to both hold passport processing charges or allocate the funds to the county funds. A brand new regulation enacted this 12 months mandates that clerks in Georgia disclose the sum of money they maintain from state charges. Whereas this observe is authorized, some state officers say that it’s immoral.
Fulton County Commissioner Invoice Ellis referred to as the observe “ethically fallacious” in 2022 and expressed his disappointment that Alexander didn’t attend a June 3 assembly to reply the board’s questions.
“When there are pink flags raised, folks needs to be open and responsive,” Ellis mentioned. “This isn’t a debate round whether or not it’s warranted or authorized; these are simply fundamental questions,” Ellis instructed Atlanta Information First Investigates.
Passport candidates in Georgia are required to pay two charges. The $130 utility charge goes to the federal authorities; a $35 processing charge is paid on to the superior court docket clerk’s workplace, the place it may be utilized as wanted.
In a 2023 state legislative listening to, a number of county clerks defended their proper to retain passport charges, with many stating that the service creates duties not included in their job descriptions.
Fannin County’s superior court docket clerk, Dana Chastain, mentioned in smaller counties like hers, “put up workplaces don’t course of passport functions, which provides extra to her workload.”
“Every passport you do, I attempt to do personally, until I’m in court docket,” Chastain mentioned, based on Atlanta Information First Investigates. “It takes about 20 to half-hour. We undergo rigorous coaching yearly. We’re the primary line of protection for fraud, abduction, and human trafficking.”
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