A proposed constitutional amendment to declare English the "official language of Georgia" failed Tuesday in the Georgia House.

House Resolution 413 needed 120 yes votes to clear the chamber and head to the Senate. Only 103 House members voted for the measure, while 61 representatives voted against it.

The measure failed after nearly an hour of debate. Supporters, including the bill's sponsor, state Rep. Tim Bearden (R-Villa Rica), argued that the bill had been misinterpreted by critics.

Opponents warned that the proposed constitutional amendment, if enacted, could create a host of unintended consequences. They also said the proposal was unnecessary because English already has been designated the state's official language.

Some opponents criticized it as an election-year stunt.

"I would like to think the General Assembly is anxious to speak with constituents and share our victories in addressing the water crisis, helping families keep their homes, spurring economic growth, providing health-care coverage for children of working families, improving our educational performance," state Rep. Pedro Marin (D-Duluth) said, "instead of wasting our time on cheap symbolism and dime-store legislation."

After the vote, Bearden immediately called on House colleagues to reconsider the issue. A vote on whether the bill should be revived is scheduled to take place today.

"We not doing something new or something that's evil here," Bearden said. "We're just trying to say that English will be the official language of this state."

Dunwoody city gets new life

The proposed city of Dunwoody got new life Tuesday in the Georgia House. Legislation creating the city was revived 7-5 in the House Governmental Affairs Committee.

The controversial action came a year after the House defeated the same proposal, later reconsidered it but never took action before the 2007 session ended.

Opponents of the city claimed that the actions taken Tuesday were either irregular or improper. But they failed to stop the bill, which now moves to the Rules Committee before it can go to the House floor.

Senate Bill 82 easily passed the Georgia Senate last year.

Supporters left Tuesday's brief hearing energized by the action. State Rep. Mark Hatfield (R-Waycross) made the motion to reconsider the bill. "I felt like it was important to give it an up or down vote on the House floor," Hatfield said.

Pharmacy records bill passes House

Pharmacists would have to give the state detailed records about everyone for whom they fill prescriptions for narcotics and other controlled substances under a bill that passed the House on Tuesday.

That group would include children who take behavioral medications such as Ritalin. The proposal, House Bill 455, passed 149-8.

State Rep. Bill Stephens (R-Savannah) said he drafted the bill in response to the case of Chris Benoit, a pro wrestler and steroid user, who last summer killed his wife and 7-year-old son before taking his own life.

Authorities concluded that Benoit was solely responsible for the killings but that they could not link his homicidal rampage directly to his steroid use.

Stephens said the legislation would bar public access to any private prescription information collected by the state. "The people who are taking legal drugs will not be affected," he said.

MARTA expansion bill OK'd in Senate

A bill that would make it easier to expand MARTA into some counties passed the Senate on Tuesday.

Sen. Curt Thompson (D-Norcross) sponsored SB 332, which he said would allow such suburban counties as Gwinnett and Cobb more flexibility to consider rail service.

The legislation amends an act from the 1960s to allow contracts for transportation service to authorize the extension of or addition of MARTA lines.

The measure would let counties such as Gwinnett look at MARTA expansion in certain areas, such as a line to Gwinnett Place Mall, without requiring expansion into the full county, which would come with a 1 percent sales tax.

Justice coalition pushes agenda

The Georgia Moratorium Campaign on Tuesday called for a halt in death-penalty executions, for further study of capital punishment, for improved eyewitness-identification standards in criminal cases and for increased indigent defense spending.

The coalition of religious and human rights leaders and organizations pushed its agenda during its annual lobbying efforts at the state Capitol.

It sought support of proposed state legislation and resolutions introduced in this year and last designed to fix what they consider a broken Georgia criminal justice system.

School voucher proposal advances

Legislation that would grant school vouchers to students from schools or districts that lose their accreditation or fail to attain it is on its way to the Senate Rules Committee.

Senate Bill 458 sponsored by Senate President Pro Tem Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) passed the Senate Education and Youth Committee 7-4 Tuesday.

The amended measure would let students, depending on the accreditation circumstance, attend another school in the district in which they live. They also could enroll in a private school approved by the state Department of Education or attend a public school in an accredited district.

—- Staff writers Ben Smith, D.L. Bennett, S.A. Reid and Andrea Jones contributed to this article.