Georgia Today: Last day of Georgia's legislative session; Tifton woman charged after miscarriage

Sofi Gratas: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. This podcast features the latest reports from the GPB News team. On today's episode. There's one day left in this year's legislative session, and Georgia lawmakers are working to advance a number of new bills before it's too late. And the case of a South Georgia woman arrested following a natural miscarriage remains in limbo.

Amanda Clark Palmer: Does a 19-week-old fetus — that cannot exist outside its mother's womb — is that a dead human body? I think that's an open legal question.

Sofi Gratas: Today is Thursday, April 3. I'm Sofi Gratas and this is Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Sofi Gratas: State lawmakers have just one more day to go in this year's legislative session. That's tomorrow, Friday, with a slew of bills moving toward final passage as the clock ticks down to Sine Die. That's the Latin term for "without a day" and the last words shouted as the session wraps up. GPB's Capitol team has been under the gold dome following all of the debates and votes. We'll start with those getting the most attention.

A bill affecting transgender people in Georgia's prisons is headed to the governor's desk. but not before a protest by some members of the state House. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports.

Sarah Kallis: House Democrats walked out of the chamber after speaking on the floor against Senate Bill 185. The bill bans the use of state funds to pay for gender-affirming care for people in Georgia's prisons. Minority Leader Carolyn Hughley said:

Carolyn Hughley: I will never participate in anything that even smells like hate.

Sarah Kallis: Republicans like Majority Leader Chuck Efstration were quick to criticize the protest.

Chuck Efstration: Probably the most disheartening moment I've ever had in my service here as a member of the House.

Sarah Kallis: The bill passed 100 to 2 with most Democrats outside of the chamber. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis at the state Capitol.

Caption

Voting booths

Credit: GPB

Story 2:

Sofi Gratas: And the state's Senate has approved a bill that could create sweeping elections changes. House Bill 397 removes Georgia from the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC. ERIC helps states maintain voter rolls by providing data on people who have moved, died, or not registered. The new law also gives more power to the State Election Board to investigate voter challenges and no longer allows absentee ballots to be delivered to dropboxes the weekend before elections. The bill's supporters included Sylvania Republican state Sen. Max Burns.

Max Burns: This protects the integrity of our elections.

Sofi Gratas: But Democrats, including Duluth state Sen. Nabila Islam-Parks, say it erodes voting rights.

Nabila Islam-Parks: This isn't about security, it's about control.

Sofi Gratas: The bill passed along a party-line vote, but it needs final approval from the House if it's going to head to the governor's desk because of changes made by the Senate.

Story 3:

Sofi Gratas: And over at the state House, lawmakers passed a bill yesterday that could force Fulton County taxpayers to foot the bill for President Donald Trump's legal case in Georgia. Senate Bill 244 would allow defendants to collect money, including attorney's fees, if the prosecutor in their criminal case is disqualified and the case is dismissed. Critics of the bill, including Democratic state Rep. Shay Roberts, said it could apply to Trump if his charges eventually are dismissed.

Shay Roberts: It's about weaponizing this body to interfere in an ongoing case.

Sofi Gratas: The bill's supporters included House Majority Leader Mulberry state Rep. Chuck Efstration.

Chuck Efstration: It's about fundamental fairness for those who are in the justice system.

Sofi Gratas: SB 244 also creates a framework for judges to award compensation for Georgians who are wrongfully convicted, a bipartisan multi-year effort. The bill passed but still needs final approval from the state Senate before moving to Gov. Brian Kemp's desk.

GPB covers the Georgia Capitol like no other news team. You can find our latest legislative updates at GPB.org/news. and get a daily roundup of capitol development and in-depth interviews on GPB TV's Lawmakers, airing every night at 7 p.m. when the General Assembly is in session.

Story 4:

Sofi Gratas: The case of a South Georgia woman, arrested after experiencing a natural miscarriage, remains in limbo. The arrest came after Tift County authorities confirmed the 24-year-old had disposed of the fetus in a dumpster outside her home. She was later released on bond. The woman faces charges for the abandonment of a dead body and concealing the death of another, according to records from her arrest on March 20. So far, the circuit's district attorney, Patrick Warren, hasn't weighed in on the full case. Atlanta-based criminal defense lawyer Amanda Clark Palmer says if charges do go through, prosecutors would be raising a novel argument. That's because Georgia's abortion law, which gives an unborn child so-called personhood, has not been tested against the state code in this way.

Amanda Clark Palmer: Does a 19-week-old fetus — that cannot exist outside its mother's womb — is that a dead human body? I think that's an open question — open legal question.

Sofi Gratas: Some reproductive justice groups say the woman's arrest counts as pregnancy criminalization and sets a dangerous standard.

Caption

Tiger Woods

Story 5:

Sofi Gratas: Golf legend Tiger Woods played an April Fool's Day joke on his social media for fans on Tuesday, saying that he had miraculously healed from a ruptured Achilles tendon and would be playing at the Masters next week. Six minutes later, he said it was just a joke: He won't be playing at Augusta National. So as golf fans gear up for the traditions and spectacle of the biggest tourism event of the year in Augusta, we turn our attention to other players and Gabrielle Herzig. She covers golf for The Athletic and joined host Orlando Montoya for conversation.

Orlando Montoya: Welcome to GPB.

Gabrielle Herzig: Thank you so much Orlando, I'm happy to be with you guys and excited to talk a little golf today.

Orlando Montoya: So with Tiger Woods not playing, who are the top players to watch this year and how have they been playing lately?

Gabrielle Herzig: Yeah, so first name that comes to mind is world No. 1 Scotty Shuffler, defending champion. If he wins this year, he'll become the first golfer to ever win three of the last four Masters. So he also won in 2022. Scotty is — he's by far the favorite because he plays this golf course so well. His game fits so perfectly to the shapes of the fairways. He's coming off a little bit of an injury from earlier this season. Over Christmas, he cut his hand when he was making Christmas dinner and had to undergo a hand surgery, but he's been finding form at exactly the right time. He finished solo second at last week's PGA Tournament and shot 64 on the final day. So I don't think it would surprise anyone to see him slipping on that green jacket again. The next name I would definitely mention is Rory McElroy. He's currently ranked No. 2 in the world and he's coming into next week's Masters as probably in some of the best form of his career that he's ever come into the Masters with. And he just feels like a really complete player right now. The one thing for Rory is he has some painful past history at Augusta. In 2011, he was leading the tournament by 4 strokes. It was basically his to win as a 21-year-old and he ended up shooting 80 in the final round. And kind of ever since then, it's been a hurdle for him to jump over at the Masters.

Orlando Montoya: How has the emergence of the PGA rival, Live Golf, impacted the Masters tournament this year? Specific players.

Gabrielle Herzig: Yeah, there are a few big names that will be coming over from Liv, obviously, that you got Bryson DeChambeau, U.S. Open champion last year; John Rahm, who's won the Masters; Kam Smith, an incredible Australian player. These are all names that play on Liv now, and as, you know, PGA Tour fans, it's not quite as clear how they're playing leading up into the Masters. So it kind of creates this dynamic of the Liv golfers come to Augusta and you're just trying to figure out what kind of form they're in. You obviously see their results from the first four events of the season, but it's kind of the first time that you're seeing them compared to the PGA Tour talent since the last major championship that includes the Liv and PGA tour players, which would be the Open Championship, which happens in July.

Orlando Montoya: What are some other unknown factors that could change the state of play over the next week before we get to the Masters?

Gabrielle Herzig: Yeah, I think the biggest one for Augusta is really the weather. Last year, we saw some swirling winds take over early in the week and make scoring conditions really difficult for those guys out there. You know, when — when the wind is blowing at Augusta, it's especially difficult because there are a lot of pockets and really those tall towering chorge of pines make it really difficult to actually judge the wind from the ground. So what you'll see is a lot caddies looking up into the air and trying to see how the trees are swaying, even. So it really changes — the weather changes the way that these guys can approach from a strategy perspective. And I would say that's the biggest unknown right now.

Orlando Montoya: Speaking of weather, how did Hurricane Helene impact Augusta National Golf Club and how did the club recover?

Gabrielle Herzig: Yeah. It was a huge factor. Hurricane Helene was devastating for the surrounding area and the club. I believe the club has pledged $5 million to the surrounding area to help it recover from the storm. And I know that, you know, Augusta is the kind of place where if a tree falls down, it will be back up the next day, if not the same day. They just have all the resources in the world to make that place pristine, as always. But I think that in addition to repairing their own grounds, they're really committed to helping the surrounding community recover because it is such a huge part of the tournament — is Augusta as a whole.

Orlando Montoya: We always talk about how Augusta has these traditions and it doesn't change very much, but every year there are little subtle changes on the course and off the course, whether it's from a menu to a particular tree. What are some of those changes that fans or players might notice this year?

Gabrielle Herzig: Yeah, I believe there are a few greens that they've redone. There are also some changes to the Masters and the tournament as a whole and just the resource that they have. I know they're working on building a massive complex for player families with a parking structure that goes underground. They announced this year that, as part of the tournament coverage, they will be releasing data on every player's range session, so not only can you track each player's shot on every hole of the tournament, you could also see every single ball and stat that goes along with those balls that they hit on the driving range during practice.

Orlando Montoya: That just sounds like something that's tailor-made for those betting websites.

Gabrielle Herzig: Yes, I would — I would 100% agree with that, and betting has become a huge part of the landscape now, especially in golf. The Masters now has a built-in part of their website where you can create a fantasy team of five golfers, and I think you're exactly right: That tool will be used by the people who track those players and how they're hitting the ball, and if there's a tendency to miss in a certain direction, it will be scrutinized. So I'm curious to see how that affects the betting world, for sure.

Orlando Montoya: And finally for those of us who will probably never get to experience the Masters in our lives, what's that experience like?

Gabrielle Herzig: Yeah, it's so cool. I actually covered the tournament for the first time last year, and I guess the way I would describe it is, it's just — like, it really does feel like its own little world out there. The coolest part to me is that there are no cellphones allowed on the property, and the rule is completely enforced and respected by everyone there. You know, you walk around and suddenly you feel like you're making eye contact with so many people because no one's looking down at their phone. You strike up conversations with strangers. The only way you can track what's happening in the tournament is the manual leaderboards that they have volunteers that replace the numbers by hand to track who's leading the tournament. So you can look up and suddenly see a six replaced with a seven to denote that the leader has made another birdie and even that gesture will provoke a roar from the crowd. So it's a really unique environment, just how old-timey it feels. It really, like, it does withstand the test of time in a beautiful way. And I think that's why it's on so many people's bucket list because there really isn't anywhere else like it.

Orlando Montoya: Well, the caddies in white, the Champions Dinner, the Pimento cheese sandwiches, and the flowers in bloom: Tournament goers are in for it all next week. And thank you for joining me to talk about the Masters. Gabby Herzig of The Athletic.

Gabrielle Herzig: Thank you so much Orlando, I appreciate it.

Sofi Gratas: That's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. Thank you so much for listening. If you would like to learn more about these stories that we mentioned, visit GPB.org/news. And if you haven't yet subscribed to this podcast, take a moment right now and keep us current in your podcast feed. And if have feedback, we would love to hear it. Please email us at GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Sofi Gratas, we'll see you tomorrow.

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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news