The House has delayed its vote on an overhaul of the state's criminal sentencing laws until Thursday.

House Bill 1176, approved Tuesday by the Special Joint Committee on Georgia Criminal Justice Reform, was expected to be considered Wednesday by the House. A top legislative priority of Gov. Nathan Deal, the bill would create new categories of punishment for various types of crimes, such as drug possession, burglary, theft, forgery and shoplifting, and it is intended to stem projected spending increases in prison spending.

About the Author

Keep Reading

Just a few of Patricia Murphy's newspaper columns, collected over the years. The column also appears online, and will continue to. (Patricia Murphy/AJC)

Credit: Patricia Murphy

Featured

An aerial view captures a large area under construction for a new data center campus on Thursday, May 29, 2025. Developed by QTS, the data center campus near Fayetteville is one of the largest under construction in Georgia. (Miguel Martinez/AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez