To stream 13WMAZ on your phone, you need the 13WMAZ app. Example video title will go here for this video Example video title will go here for this video WASHINGTON COUNTY, Ga. — When someone is charged with dropping drugs or other contraband into a Georgia state prison and cannot make bail, they do not go to a state facility. They wait for trial in the local county jail — sometimes for more than a year. That reality has strained Washington County’s jail for years, and now the Georgia House is proposing a fix. House Bill 974, the House’s proposed fiscal year 2027 budget, sets aside $1.5 million to reimburse rural county jails where more than 20 percent of inmates face prison contraband or drone-related charges and cannot make bail. Washington County Sheriff Joel Cochran says his jail qualifies — and then some. “Right now we’re sitting at 33% of our population here in the county jail that are directly involved with prison related cases,” Cochran said. That is actually an improvement. When 13WMAZ first spoke with Cochran last October, that number stood at 44 percent — more than double the threshold to qualify for reimbursement. The financial burden on local taxpayers has been signific
