(AP) -- CORRECTIONS-PAROLE
    House defeats Perdue merger bill
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The House has shot down a proposal from Governor
Sonny Perdue to merge the state Board of Pardons with the state
Department of Corrections.
    The bill was defeated with a 59-to-108 vote Wednesday night
after 90 minutes of debate.
    Supporters said it would have streamlined operations by placing
parole and probation functions under the umbrella of the state
Department of Corrections, which runs the state's prisons.
    But opponents questioned whether it would save money and
suggested it consolidated too much power in one place.
   
XGR-GEORGIA-GUNS
    Senate approves controversial gun carry law
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The controversial proposal to overhaul Georgia's
gun carry law has been approved by the Senate.
    Senators debated for nearly two hours before voting in favor of
the bill 41-to-12. The measure would allow licensed gun owners to
carry firearms onto college campuses and into churches and bars.
    Bill sponsor Senator Mitch Seabaugh says the bill clarifies the
firearms carry law for the state's 300,000 gun owners with permits
to carry weapons and leaves the decision up to private property
owners as to whether to exclude people from carrying guns on their
property.
    The Board of Regents would determine the policy for the state's
college campuses and has opposed the legislation.
    The proposal would also transfer issuing of licenses from the
state's 159 county probate judges to the Secretary of State's
Office.
   
XGR-IMMIGRATION-LAW ENFORCEMENT
    Senate approves incentives for federal crackdown
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The Senate has approved legislation that would
provide financial incentives to encourage local law enforcement to
use a federal program aimed at identifying illegal immigrants
arrested in Georgia.
    The bill, sponsored by Senator John Wiles and approved 37-to-11,
would provide a 20 percent bonus from the state to local
governments that use a federal program that helps them identify
illegal immigrants already in custody.
    It also would provide a 10 percent bonus for another program
that allows arrestee fingerprint information to be checked against
FBI criminal history records.
    Wiles, a Kennesaw Republican, says people moving to Georgia from
other countries who are committing crimes are often not identified
because local governments don't participate in the federal program
to identify them.
   
XGR--SEAT BELT LAW
    Seat belt law revived, approved in Senate
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The Senate has again revived and approved a
proposal that would force pickup truck drivers to wear their seat
belts.
    The bill passed with a vote of 45-to-two. Bill sponsor Senator
Don Thomas, a physician and Republican from Dalton, says the
measure will save lives and money in the state.
    Thomas says he is encouraged that the proposal, which has not
had much luck in the House in years past, will fare better under
that chamber's new leadership. Georgia would become eligible for
federal incentive grants if the legislation passes.
    The state is the last in the country that exempts adults from
buckling up in pickups. Though there is no opposition to the
measure from lobbyists, rural lawmakers have blocked the bill as
unnecessary regulation.
   
SPECIAL ELECTION-SENATE
    Perdue sets special election for Senate seat
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Governor Sonny Perdue has set May 11th for a
special election to fill a state Senate seat representing part of
DeKalb County.
    The seat is being vacated by David Adelman, a Democrat tapped by
President Barack Obama as U.S. ambassador to Singapore.
    Among the candidates running to replace Adelman is Jason Carter,
grandson of former President Jimmy Carter.
    The younger Carter is making his first bid for elected office.
   
SWINE FLU
    Swine flu hospitalizations up in Georgia
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - Health officials say swine flu hospitalizations
in Georgia are up to their highest level since the fall.
    About 70 to 80 hospitalizations were reported in each of the
past two weeks -- the most since September, when a large wave of
illnesses was hitting the South. The Georgia Department of
Community Health released the new numbers Wednesday.
    However, no significant increase in deaths or overall reports of
flu-like illness has been reported in the state or nationally. And
health officials say there's no evidence that the virus has mutated
to a more dangerous form or that a new wave of swine flu cases is
beginning.
   
PSC-RATE CASES
    House says utilities must pay for witnesses
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - The House has approved a bill that requires
utilities to pay for witnesses who come before the state Public
Service Commission to help make the case for rate hikes.
    Currently, those expert witnesses are paid for by taxpayers.
    The measure from state Representative John Lunsford, a McDonough
Republican, passed 114-to-49 on Wednesday.
    Opponents say the legislation allows utilities to pass the costs
along to consumers and could lead to higher gas and electric rates.
   
INMATE ABUSE
    GA detention officer charged in inmate abuse
   
    ATLANTA (AP) - A former Fulton County detention officer has been
charged with pepper-spraying a handcuffed inmate and then writing a
false incident report to cover it up.
    Authorities indicted 31-year-old Lee M. Hutley Tuesday on two
felony counts of using excessive force against an inmate and one
felony charge of writing a false incident report.
    He was released on $20,000 bond on Wednesday and is scheduled to
be arraigned on Friday.
    Prosecutors say he unnecessarily sprayed and then struck the
Fulton County inmate, known as J.L. in the indictment, in March
2009. They say he then sought to obstruct the federal investigation
into the beating by falsifying records.
   
KIDNAPPING CHASE-SUICIDE
    Man kidnaps children, kills self
   
    SWAINSBORO, GA (AP) - Three children are ok after authorities
say their father took them from their mother's home and led police
on a chase through Swainsboro before shooting himself to death
Wednesday.
    Police say 41-year-old Willie Scott Jr. took his child and two
step-children around 1 a.m. He called their mother threatening to
harm the children, and she called the police, who issued an Amber
Alert.
    Officers located his vehicle began following Scott, who had a
gun and began firing it out the window at police cruisers.
    Authorities say shortly thereafter, he stopped the car and they
heard a single gun shot. The children were uninjured.

(Copyright ©2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)