Sunday Solutions — March 29, 2026
Good morning! If you’re getting your spring planting done, it’s a great day to do it. Be sure to check out our garden of news and updates from the week. Let’s go dig!
NEWS: COMMUNITY
Marching
In at least 6 cities from St. Marys to Rincon, several thousand Coastal Georgians protested Saturday in the No Kings rallies. In Savannah, crowd estimates were around 2,500, and about 75 rallied in Rincon to protest the Trump administration’s policies and the war in Iran. More than 3,100 sites across the nation and in Europe had registered for the day’s event, thought to be the largest protest in U.S. history. Here’s a national look at the day’s events. Locally, The Current‘s Sarah Harwell talked to marchers about why they attended.
NEWS: GOVERNING
Moving toward sine die
The Georgia General Assembly doesn’t wind down as much as it hits a wall at full speed and stops with sine die no later than midnight of the 40th day. That day, for this session, is set for Thursday, April 2. If you’re counting, the 38th day of the legislature was Friday, and the 39th is Tuesday. House and Senate calendars are packed with bills to consider and reconsider. If you want a look at what’s coming, here’s where you go to see each chamber’s calendars and links to the bills on tap. The debate or “rules” calendars for each day shows up later the day before. At https://www.legis.ga.gov/ you can watch the committee and floor sessions from the chambers, monitor and check votes. Here are some stories from the final full week:
- Lawmakers may restrict access to police video, mugshots in Georgia: Not all news outlets and almost no citizens would be able to reasonably request records. From Georgia Recorder.
- GOP measure to cap out-of-state campaign donations advancing through Georgia House: In-state contributions would have to match those from outside. From Capitol Beat.
- Georgia Senate votes for rapid move to hand-marked paper ballots before November elections: Setting up a fight with the House, the chamber moves timeline and would fine counties. From Capitol Beat.
- Georgia Senate cuts $110M from public college funding in $38.5B budget: Chambers will have to work out a deal before Thursday. From Capitol Beat.
- Georgia politics: Special elections, departures shape political landscape: Debate and partisan moves ratchets up during legislative session. From Georgia Recorder.
- Legislature OKs to ‘bell to bell’ cell phone ban in high schools: All students in public school will have to store the phones for entire day starting in 2027. From Georgia Recorder.
- General Assembly approves medical marijuana vaping, removes THC limits: The state has the lowest adoption rate of the 42 states with medical marijuana programs. From Capitol Beat.
- Georgia Senate votes to adopt Atlantic time zone, ending daylight saving time: This would put the state in a zone of its own along the coast but sharing with Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. From Capitol Beat.
What police report
Police incident reports follow a pattern: A responding officer reports date, time, location, alleged offenses and people involved at a scene, then adds a paragraph or so of notes. The report is a public record that anyone can request.
In her investigation of Liberty County Animal Services, The Current GA’s Robin Kemp used the Hinesville Police Department’s miscellaneous report to learn about a county worker shooting stray dogs with a crossbow. See the report or head straight to her coverage.
NEWS: UPDATES
From the week
Here’s a roundup of some non-legislature stories you may have missed.
- Georgia imposes fines, training for Liberty County Animal Control: It started with an attempt to control a dangerous pack of dogs by shooting them with a crossbow and ended with some fines. From The Current’s Robin Kemp.
- Environmental groups sue over Georgia Power’s energy expansion for data centers: The plan to expand gas-powered plants heads to court. From Georgia Recorder.
- Judge, expressing doubt on abortion murder charge, grants bond to Georgia mother: Mother of two gets bail from Camden court. From The Current‘s Jabari Gibbs.
EXPLAINERS: NEWS
Rely on your own work…
We know our readers like to see the documents, click on the bill language or check out the data. And, we love that. So in the spirit of doing homework, we’ll keep answering questions for you as we get them. We’ve gotten a few requests over the past two weeks for more info on how our elected officials vote on various pieces of legislation and what bills they sponsor. We can’t monitor every vote, but we know who does: Govtrack.us and VoteSmart, nonprofits dedicated to collecting legislative data. Here’s a page where VoteSmart tracks Coastal Georgia’s only voice in the House of Representatives, Buddy Carter. Looking for campaign finance info? Try Opensecrets.org. Here’s the page for Carter, as well, through his 2024 re-election to the House.
You can see all of this and a lot more about our U.S. Senators, as well, on The Current’s homepage at TheCurrentGA.org. Just scroll down and check out The Accountability Toolkit.
Here are the pages for each:
• U.S. Rep. Earl L. “Buddy” Carter
• U.S. Sens. Raphael Warnock, Jon Ossoff
Take the quiz
Test your news knowledge with a few short questions related to stories we published recently. We’ll track winners and leaders over time, so be sure to fill out the form completely to get the credit you earn.
Make sure you compete every week and leave your name for a chance to win an exclusive prize from The Current GA!
EDITORS CHOICE: TECHNOLOGY
☕ Your second cup: How do you rate?
Our world is governed by data and metrics — whether its time or money, there’s likely a number attached to it for each of us: How many minutes did you sleep? How many miles do you drive a month? What’s your credit score? These metrics show up in every facet of life and are usually part of corporate algorithms. Are those industrial judgements becoming moral authorities? A professor of marketing thinks they may be. Here’s her thoughts on what ratings mean to us and for us.
Enjoy your day!
Lawmakers may restrict access to police video, mugshots in Georgia
By Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder
Senate Bill 482 in Georgia aims to protect victims of tragedies from exploitative websites, but free speech advocates argue it could disadvantage some news outlets by requiring in-person and notarized requests for booking photos and videos, as well as court orders for media of dead or dying people.
GOP measure to cap out-of-state campaign donations advancing through Georgia House
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
Senate Bill 423, which would make it a felony for an intermediary to send money from out-of-state donors and give it to a local campaign, passed a state House committee and is nearing final passage in the final days of this year’s legislative session.
Georgia Senate votes for rapid move to hand-marked paper ballots before November elections
By Mark Niesse/Capitol Beat
The Georgia Senate passed a bill that would switch the state’s voting system to hand-marked paper ballots, setting up a showdown with the House over a competing bill that would delay the transition until 2028.
Georgia Senate cuts $110M from public college funding in $38.5B budget
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
The Georgia Senate passed its version of the $38.5 billion FY2027 budget, which included reduced funding for public colleges and universities, increased funding for private K-12 school vouchers, and added funding for the state employee pension system, and was sent to the House for negotiations.
Legislature OKs to ‘bell to bell’ cell phone ban in high schools
By Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
The Georgia Senate passed a bill banning cellphone use in public high schools from the morning bell to the dismissal bell, with the goal of reducing distractions and increasing student interaction.
Georgia Senate votes to adopt Atlantic time zone, ending daylight saving time
By Ty Tagami/Capitol Beat News Service
The Georgia Senate has passed a bill to move the state from the Eastern to the Atlantic time zone, eliminating the need for daylight saving time and requiring permission from the U.S. Transportation secretary.
Georgia imposes fines, training for Liberty County Animal Control
By Robin Kemp
Liberty County animal control officers used a cross bow to kill dogs fighting in the street. A state investigation said this wasn’t animal cruelty.
Environmental groups sue over Georgia Power’s energy expansion for data centers
By Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
A group of environmental organizations filed a lawsuit against the Georgia Public Service Commission, alleging that the commission broke the law by approving nearly 10 gigawatts of new energy generation without properly demonstrating a need for it, which the lawsuit argues will leave customers on the hook for an estimated $50 to $60 billion in […]
Judge, expressing doubt on abortion murder charge, grants bond to Georgia mother
By Jabari Gibbs
A Coastal Georgia district attorney and Superior Court judge expressed doubts about the evidence for a malice murder charge against a 31-year-old Camden County mother accused of an illegal abortion.
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