Thursday was Crossover Day in the Georgia General Assembly, one of the busiest days of the year at the Capitol where legislators voted on dozens of bills.
Crossover Day is the deadline for bills to pass at least one legislative chamber — either the House or Senate — to have a chance of becoming law this year.
Lawmakers had already passed bills to cut taxes, ban THC-infused drinks, relax medical marijuana rules and address school safety.
Among other measures, votes were planned on proposals to withhold funding from schools with diversity programs, ban drones made in China and build a statue of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
The AJC Politics team covered in realtime one of the most important — and exhausting — days in the legislative calendar.
The Georgia General Assembly adjourned a marathon Crossover Day without voting on bills to legalize sports betting or withhold funding from public schools that have diversity programs.
The contentious measures failed to pass before a deadline for bills to pass either the House or Senate, meaning they're unlikely to become law this year.
It's unclear whether either bill had enough votes to pass. Legislative leaders didn't say why they didn't bring up the bills.
Another measure that didn't advance would have built a statue of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas at the Nathan Deal Judicial Center.
But dozens of other bills did clear, including tax cuts and school safety proposals.
The General Assembly will next consider bills for final passage before this year's legislative session ends April 4.
Photographers from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution have been capturing images from Crossover day at the state Capitol.
For the second time, the state Senate rejected putting President Donald Trump's name on a specialty Georgia license plate. Instead, they voted to place his signature "America First" slogan on one.
Senate Bill 291, sponsored by the Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch, passed 33-23 along party lines.
One Democratic senator offered a cheeky addition, suggesting "America First" be changed to "Donald J. Trump First."
"The bill should reflect its true purpose as clearly as possible," said Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Democrat from Sandy Springs.
Gooch opposed the amendment.
"America First is not about a person; it's not about an entity or an organization," he said. "It is about the love for our country."
The Georgia House of Representatives could soon vote on legalizing sports betting.
The Rules Committee added both a sports betting bill and a resolution asking voters to amend the Georgia Constitution to tonight's calendar.
In previous years, efforts to legalize sports betting have passed the Senate before failing in the House.
This time, the House is taking the lead before the Senate.
Approval of the constitutional amendment requires a two-thirds majority, or 120 votes.
The measures are House Bill 686 and House Resolution 450.
The battle between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Georgia Senate Republicans won't go away.
On a party-line vote, the Senate passed a bill from Athens Republican Bill Cowsert enshrining subpoena and other investigative powers to certain legislative committees.
Willis, a Democrat, has fiercely fought a pair of subpoenas the Cowsert-led Senate Special Committee on Investigations issued in August. In December, a Fulton County judge ruled against her.
Cowsert said the bill would simply codify that the committee indeed has subpoena power as it continues its work. Next up for the panel could be Democrat Stacey Abrams.
Republicans want Willis to testify and produce documents related to her investigation of President Donald Trump and onetime romantic relationship with a former deputy.
The Georgia House unanimously passed legislation that would allow residents to reduce their income taxes if they contribute to a catastrophic savings account.
Georgians could take advantage of House Bill 511 when a declared catastrophic event occurs. They must show that money has been spent for expenses related to the catastrophe. It works similar to a Health Savings Account, said the bill's sponsor state Rep. Eddie Lumsden, R-Armuchee.
Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of Georgia last fall, would have been considered a catastrophic event.
The measure passed by a vote of 177 to 0.
Georgia Republicans aren't big fans of the federal government telling them what to do. But that doesn't stop them from turning around and doing it to cities and counties that pass laws they don't approve of.
Last year, Savannah approved an ordinance that would penalize gun owners who leave their weapons in unlocked cars up to $1,000 and/or up to 30 days in jail. Senate Bill 163, sponsored by Sen. Colton Moore, would allow anyone cited under that ordinance to sue the city for up to $50,000.
Senators voted 33-23 on a party line vote, with Democrats opposing the measure.
It's the first bill Moore was able to get out of the chamber in five legislative sessions. The Trenton Republican is a controversial figure, even among fellow Republicans. Earlier this year he was arrested after being pushed to the ground and denied entry to the House chamber.
The bill now goes to the House for its consideration, though it's unclear how it will fare. Speaker Jon Burns banned Moore last year after making disparaging remarks about former Speaker David Ralston, who died in 2022.
Transit would get priority in bus-only lanes under a bill the Georgia House passed Thursday.
As Atlanta prepares for major sporting events, including the World Cup in 2026, House Bill 638 would allow MARTA buses to install cameras to ticket vehicles parked in bus-only lanes.
"The idea of this is rapid transit," which is "an easy and quick way to get around town," said state Rep. Deborah Silcox, a Republican from Sandy Springs.
The legislation would also help keep transit moving along the new Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) lanes opening in the Summer Hill neighborhood downtown.
MARTA would conduct a public education awareness campaign for the first six months. Violations would not contribute to points against a driver's motor vehicle record, would not prohibit anyone from renewing tags and would never result in an arrest.
The measure passed by a vote of 145 to 22.
A Republican proposal to exclude tips from Georgia's income tax will not pass today. But it's not because Republicans are abandoning the proposal.
State Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, noted Congress is close to exempting tips from federal income taxes. If that proposal becomes law, it would remove tips from people's adjusted gross incomes. Since state income taxes are calculated based on adjusted gross incomes, that means there would be no revenue from tips for the state to tax.
"It just wouldn't be needed," Dolezal said. "So rather than have something that may conflict with the feds, I'll just sit on it."
Eliminating taxes on tips was a big part of Donald Trump's presidential campaign. Georgia Republicans have filed a number of proposals this year designed to mimic Trump's policy positions.
Even as Georgia lawmakers raced to beat a legislative deadline, they kept one eye on developments in Washington as President Donald Trump moved forward with plans to shrink the federal government.
U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick, a Suwanee Republican, was asked if the government should be “firing veterans” after Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins outlined plans to shrink the agency’s workforce by roughly 72,000 workers.
“Yeah, there’s going to be some layoffs of veterans,” he said in video obtained by the AJC. “That’s the way every business and every government process has been — only when necessary though.”