(a)  In addition to any other filing fees or court costs required by law or court rule, parties to any court matter may be required to pay a technology surcharge or fee not to exceed twenty-five dollars ($25.00) at the inception or the conclusion of any case, or upon making any electronic payment online to any of the courts within the unified judicial system. Such surcharges or fees shall be determined by the state court administrator with the approval of the chief justice.

(b)  The collection of technology surcharges shall be monitored and supervised by the judiciary’s director of finance and shall be deposited into a restricted receipt account designated as “Rhode Island judiciary technology surcharge account,” the proceeds of which shall be solely for use by the judiciary in support of its technology infrastructure and case management system. On or before January 15, 2015, and annually thereafter on or before January 15, the judiciary’s director of finance shall file a report with the governor, the speaker of the house, and the president of the senate detailing: (1) The total amount of funds collected and deposited into the judiciary technology surcharge account for the most recently completed fiscal year; (2) The fund balance as of the date of the report; (3) An itemization of all expenditures and other uses of said funds from said account for the most recently completed fiscal year; and (4) An annual evaluation as to the appropriateness of the amount of the technology surcharge or fee.

(c)  The implementation of electronic court records shall not alter the application of § 38-2-5 to any judicial records, whether in paper or electronic format.