The Senate Ethics reform package which would place a $100 gift cap on lobbyist gifts to legislators is now in the hands the Senate Rules Committee. But ethics watchdog groups say that’s a way to stall, if not kill, the bill altogether. Once a state lawmaker introduces a bill, it's ordinarily referred to a related committee for hearings, amendments and votes.

State Republicans and Democrats say they’ve reached a compromise on a controversial charter school bill. The new version of the constitutional amendment would stipulate that funding for public schools would not be reduced to pay for state charter schools. The bill would allow Georgians to vote on whether the state should approve charter schools.

The Senate has unanimously approved legislation that would increase the monthly contribution of certain public school employees to their retirement system from $4 to $10.

A state Senator has introduced a resolution allowing Georgians to vote on whether the state can authorize charter schools. It’s nearly identical to a House version that narrowly failed on its first vote last week. Like the House bill, the Senate version would allow voters to change Georgia’s constitution, giving the state the power to open public charter schools.

Energy Secretary Steven Chu says the construction of America's first new nuclear plant in a generation in Georgia will influence whether other utilities nationwide follow suit by investing in new reactors.