Georgia lawmakers want to set up a special council to study ways of reducing Georgia's prison population. Like other states around the country Georgia is pushing for reforms in how it deals with non violent offenders.

President Barack Obama's budget restores funding to an elite Coast Guard unit. The 85-member Maritime and Safety Security Team is based in St. Marys. The team is responsible for high-level specialized security and is part of the nation's anti-terrorism response. Coast Guard officials wanted to cut the unit and four-others in part to have more money to buy new ships.

Chief Justice Carol Hunstein says it's time for Georgia to reform its tough criminal sentences. In her annual State of the Judiciary address to a joint session of the state Legislature on Wednesday, Hunstein said many inmates clogging Georgia's prisons "are a greater threat to themselves than to society."

Ethics Reform Advocates are pushing for limits on lobbyist spending. Interests groups and representatives from both parties lobbied at the capitol today in support of a $100 limit on lobbyist spending. House Ethics Chair Republican Wendell Willard says some media reports give the wrong impression of lawmakers.

Senate Republicans will meet Wednesday to decide whether a bill to allow Sunday sales of alcohol in Georgia will make it to the full Senate for a vote. Christian conservatives have started to lobby hard against the bill, and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers says a Republican caucus meeting is necessary.