An effort to make more technical college students eligible for the HOPE grant was overwhelmingly approved by House lawmakers. It passed by a 169-1 vote to applause by legislators.

House Bill 372, which has the blessing of Gov. Nathan Deal, would change the eligibility requirement to a 2.0 grade-point average. That’s down from the current rule of 3.0 and a return to what existed before lawmakers overhauled HOPE in 2011 to prevent it from going broke.

Nearly 9,000 students lost the grant last year because they couldn’t maintain a 3.0 average.

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Georgia Lt. Gov. Lester Maddox, angry about an article, burns a copy of The Atlanta Constitution in the state Senate on March 10, 1971, saying the paper did not have the "guts, integrity, manhood or decency" to report the situation accurately. (AJC file)

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Ja’Quon Stembridge, shown here in July at the Henry County Republican Party monthly meeting, recently stepped from his position with the Georgia GOP. (Jenni Girtman for the AJC)

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