Morning, y’all! Expect clouds and high temperatures in the 60s today.
- The Braves were supposed to start playing meaningful baseball this afternoon — but the weather’s a little dicey in Philadelphia, so they’ll kick off the season at 3:05 p.m. Friday instead. Check out tomorrow’s A.M. ATL for my Q&A with beat reporter Justin Toscano.
Otherwise: Today’s newsletter takes a good hard look at what to expect from the marathon finale at the Georgia General Assembly, a hearing in Fulton’s election interference case and the overcrowded DeKalb County animal shelter. Plus: bread recipes!
Let’s get to it.
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CLOCK’S TICKING
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
By midnight(ish), Georgia’s state lawmakers will be celebrating the end of the legislative session. Shredded pieces of paper will waft through the air. Deep breaths will be taken. High fives will be ... fived.
But there’s a long way to go before then.
I highly recommend you take a few minutes to read veteran political reporter James Salzer’s piece explaining how the frantic final day typically plays out. And this analysis that shows just how much of the Legislature’s annual activity occurs at the very last minute.
In the meantime: Here’s the compressed version of the legislation my AJC colleagues will keep an eye on at the state Capitol today. And tonight. And maybe technically tomorrow morning, too.
- Cold hard cash: The proposed state budget includes pay raises for 300,000 teachers and state workers. Also being considered: limiting annual increases in home property assessments to 3%.
- Elections: The bounty of proposals includes bills allowing officials to limit the number of voting machines available on election day and setting criteria for challenges to voters’ eligibility.
- Immigration: Various bills include requiring local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and allowing residents to sue local governments they believe aren’t enforcing immigration laws.
- Republican red meat: Legislation banning transgender students from using bathrooms that align with their gender identity, restricting puberty blocking medication and prohibiting sex education before sixth grade are all possibilities.
- Swamp things: Will lawmakers prohibit future mining near the Okefenokee, one of Georgia’s most cherished natural treasures?
The AJC’s bill tracker is a super easy and intuitive way to keep tabs on things throughout the day. This story will be updated as well. And you can follow reporters @bluestein, @markniesse, @MayaTPrabhu, @mlbaruchman and @murphyAJC for up-to-the-minute news.
Perhaps you should say a little prayer for them, too.
Keep scrolling for more news.
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BACK IN COURT
Credit: Alex Slitz/AP
Credit: Alex Slitz/AP
Fulton County’s election interference case is due back in court at 10 a.m. to address a number of pre-trial motions. It’ll be the first hearing since special prosecutor Nathan Wade stepped down over his previous relationship with District Attorney Fani Willis.
» Judge recommends disbarring John Eastman, attorney who aided Trump
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MORE TOP STORIES
» One reason DeKalb County’s animal shelter remains overcrowded: So-called “court dogs” are held for months or years while their owners’ cases wind through the legal system.
» MARTA says its recently announced new rail stations won’t nix streetcar extension plans. But officials remain mum on where, exactly, the new stations may land.
» Amid a federal investigation reportedly involving sex trafficking, music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs sold his majority stake in Revolt TV. The network’s production offices are in Midtown Atlanta.
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FORSYTH FUNDING
Forsyth County commissioners approved a memorandum of understanding that includes $225 million in public funding for The Gathering, the massive mixed-use development aimed at luring an NHL team to the area.
But the would-be developer isn’t pleased, accusing the county of “moving the goal line.”
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BRIDGE TRAGEDY
Authorities recovered the bodies of two construction workers killed during the collapse of Baltimore’s Key Bridge. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, meanwhile, said it’s too soon to predict how long rebuilding will take.
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MORE TIKTOK TROUBLE?
The Federal Trade Commission is reportedly investigating the popular social media app’s data and security practices.
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SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS
- Second-seed Arizona and sixth-seed Clemson kick off the men’s Sweet 16 festivities tonight (7:09 p.m. on CBS). Full schedule here.
- Dejounte Murray’s 30 points led the Hawks to a 120-106 win over the Blazers, their third straight.
- Gainesville High School started a scholarship in honor of Jeremy Medina, the senior baseball player who died in a batting cage accident.
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GET THAT BREAD
Credit: Virginia Willis for the AJC
Credit: Virginia Willis for the AJC
Ever wanna make fresh bread but find yourself short on time? Virginia Willis has you covered with these hour-or-less recipes.
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MORE TO EXPLORE
» DNA leads to arrests nearly 40 years after sexual assaults
» 2 arrested in training center protest at Midtown construction site
» Dethroned crypto king Sam Bankman-Fried due for sentencing
» Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82
» Henry Ford’s Georgia estate hits market
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ON THIS DATE
March 28, 1914
The talented women of Agnes Scott College won the “first intercollegiate debate between women colleges in Dixie.” They debated a New Orleans school on whether or not the feds should take over the county’s telegraph system.
Back home in Decatur, classmates “held a wild, joyous ‘snake dance’ ... around a huge bonfire” to celebrate.
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
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PHOTO OF THE DAY
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
AJC photographer Jason Getz captured supporters of Ahmaud Arbery’s family rallying outside the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta. Attorneys for the three men who chased and ultimately killed Arbery in a South Georgia subdivision want their hate crime convictions overturned.
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ONE MORE THING
Before we go, this is a fun one: The AJC caught up with Stone Mountain’s Fast Life Yungstaz, the originators of “Swag Surfin” — the arms-on-your-neighbors’-shoulders-and-sway-back-and-forth thing you’ve probably seen poorly executed at sporting events.
“The song has put us in different rooms to shake hands with people that we haven’t before,” one member said.
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Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact me at tyler.estep@ajc.com.
Until next time.
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