House delays vote on sentencing legislation

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.