The Arnies:

In the tradition of reformist Gov. Ellis Arnall, Creative Loafing tempers its criticism of the General Assembly with awards for people who distinguished themselves as public servants during the legislative session. Our second annual Arnies celebrate some who had but one shining moment amid an otherwise forgettable term, and others for consistent do-gooding during a particularly nasty election-year session.

The Send Us Your Huddled Masses Award

The 2004 General Assembly was tough on women, children and the poor. Gov. Perdue's "surgical" cuts (no, really, he called them that on NPR) actually meant a 5 percent lop from each state department. Under his original budget, more than 27,000 pregnant women and children would have been dropped from the Medicaid rolls, while co-payments for PeachCare, a health care program for the working poor, would have risen to the highest levels of any state in the country.

So here's to the unheralded advocates who spent the session speaking out for those who don't have much of a place at the feeding trough: Elizabeth Appley, Sylvia Caley, Sue Saleska Hamilton, Linda Lowe, Larry Pellegrini, Shelley Senterfitt and Mary Frances Williams. They represent groups ranging from the Georgia Rural Urban Summit to Families First and unions.

Of course, for those folks to get anything done, they had to find a few sympathetic ears. Reps. Nan Orrock, D-Atlanta, and Georganna Sinkfield, D-Atlanta, worked especially hard in support of Georgians who needed protection.

The Send Us Your Really Huddled Masses Award

Rep. Sally Harrell, D-Atlanta. Harrell scored a victory for disabled kids when she had money restored to the budget for a program that benefits "medically fragile" children and their families, who have to pay steep medical and therapeutic bills.

The Jesus Would Be Proud Award

To Georgia Equality Executive Director Allen Thornell. In the face of long odds and vitriol, Thornell, chief of the top gay rights group in Georgia, led an effective campaign against the anti-gay marriage amendment. His organization used every means at its disposal -- from e-mail to the good ol' fashion ear-bend -- to target on-the-fence lawmakers. Georgia Equality helped defeat the resolution by just three votes in the House; at press time, it seemed the proposed amendment could die before coming up for a second vote.

To Rep. Karla Drenner, D-Avondale Estates. The only openly gay legislator, Drenner deserves special recognition for turning the other cheek time and again when members of the (un)Christian Coalition called her a Sodomite and colleagues condemned her sexuality.

And to the Legislative Black Caucus, whose members knew bigotry when they saw it. Every black member of the Senate voted against the anti-gay legislation, and most in the House caucus did, too. That took courage, because they did it in the face of powerful ministers who preached that gay marriage was an abomination having nothing to do with civil rights. The Black Caucus led when it would have been much safer to follow.

The Living to Fight (and Win) Another Day Award

To Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta. Fort lost his battle last year to keep many protections in the state's predatory lending law. But this year, he fought to add felony penalties for illegal payday loan operations, which always happen to be located in poor neighborhoods. The bill passed by landslides in both the House and Senate.

And to Sen. Don Cheeks, R-Augusta, who sponsored the bill. He worked with lawmakers to keep the bill, which goes after lenders who screw poor folks with interest rates that often exceed 100 percent, from being watered down.

The Rookie(s) of the Year Award

To Georgia Watch. In its second year under the Gold Dome, Georgia Watch, led by Allison Kelly, with trusty staffers Matt Monroe and Danny Orrock, organized victims of medical malpractice to testify against pain and suffering jury award caps pushed by big business and big insurance. They also rounded up people taken advantage of by payday lenders and worked successfully to push the bill through the General Assembly. (Full disclosure: Kelly is engaged to CL staff writer Michael Wall, who didn't write a lick of "Golden Sleaze," the lazy jughead; Monroe is a former CL freelancer.)

The Democracy's Friend Award

To Sen. Tom Price, R-Roswell. Democrats dismissed Price's legislation to require paper receipts that would verify votes cast on the state's electronic voting machines as a partisan slap at Secretary of State Cathy Cox. But if it had been petty party politics, Price would have made the bill onerous. He didn't. Instead, he gave Cox plenty of time to implement the legislation. And he followed the advice of prominent and well-respected computer scientists around the country who say it's only a matter of time before the electronic machines fall pray to ne'er-do-wells looking to hijack an election.

Too bad Sen. George Hooks, D-Americus, eviscerated Price's bill before sending it to the House.

The Shiny Gold Star Award

To Sen. Robert Lamutt, R-Marietta. We often want to staple a dunce cap on Lamutt and send him to the corner, but like an alcoholic who experiences a moment of clarity, he distinguished himself during the Senate tussle over the mid-year supplemental budget.

When colleague Jack Hill, R-Reidsville, pushed to get a golf course in his district, Lamutt took a stand for good government. He reminded his GOP colleagues that during their years in the legislative wilderness, they'd always complained about Democrats loading up on pork projects.

"Isn't this exactly what we've been fighting against all these years?" Lamutt asked. "This budget is not the time to be adding more pork."

The One Step in the Right Direction Award

To Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and Sen. Gloria Butler, D-Clarkston. Georgia's get-tough-on-juvenile-offenders laws often land 13- to 17-year-olds in prison with adult inmates where there's little hope for rehabilitation -- and a good chance of sexual assault.

Taylor and Butler pushed a bill that, if passed by the House, would allow children and teenagers access to a new distance-learning program available to other children across the state. It may be a small gesture, but at least they're trying to address the needs of the 3,500 young people in the custody of the state Department of Corrections.