During the 2013 Legislative Session at the Georgia State Capitol, the Capitol Rotunda takes on a life of its own. Since the Capitol’s completion in 1889, the Capitol Rotunda has long been the main artery during the legislative session. During the 40 day legislative session, AJC photographer Jason Getz spent a portion of his day documenting events and activities in and around the Capitol. The walls of the rotunda hold the gold dome on top of the capitol. In the rotunda, with its soaring 237-foot ceiling, are busts of famous Georgians, including signers of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. The portrait of General James Oglethorpe and a few others pre-date the building by about 60 years and were brought from the Milledgeville Capitol after the Civil War. The glass tiles in the floor of the Rotunda were originally skylights that brought light to government agencies located on the first floor (basement.) Today lights have been placed under the glass panels to bring light into the rotunda. The glass tiles were also the site of a make-shift Governor’s office. During the Three Governors Controversy of 1948, Out-going governor Ellis Arnall held is office on the rotunda glass tiles after being removed from the Governor’s office by Herman Talmadge. The Capitol Rotunda is an important location for public ceremonies such as; news conferences, tours and when famous Georgians, “Lie in State.” The last person to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda was former House Speaker Tom Murphy in 2007. Georgia legislature