There's always next year. Here are five issues facing the legislature in January.
Budget: The budget shortfall will be at least $3 billion, and lawmakers will have to fill that hole.
Jobs and the economy: The recession may be heading into a second wave, and lawmakers will have to find ways to spur job growth and increase economic activity.
Puppy mills: A bill that supporters said was intended to prevent abusive practices at puppy mills died under objections from breeders and the pork industry, which opposed it because of the bill's support from the animal rights lobby.
Public financing: Proposals by Democrats to expand publicly financed election campaigns caused a lot of ruckus with Republicans this year. The issue will be back.
Ethics: Negotiators cut out a controversial provision from this year's ethics package that sought to curb pay-to-play practices by limiting the amount of campaign donations state contractors could give. Lawmakers agreed to study the issue of contractor giving.
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The barely 2-week-old campaign for governor has gotten off to a raucous start, with a lawsuit, threats of “evisceration” and the two national parties wading in playing hard ball. 
70-year-old State Rep. Larry Womble, D-Winston-Salem, has been charged with one misdemeanor count of death by vehicle, according to the state attorney general’s office. The accident happened in December. 
Media sets up “Camp Edwards,” the defendant takes in another baseball game and the wait enters one week for a jury verdict in the trial of the former presidential candidate. 
The total budget, including the total the state House proposes to spend next year, is not available, but House members pushed major pieces through committees Thursday. The house budget doesn’t anticipate any fee increases, and the state courts would escape major reductions while federal election grants would be unfrozen. 
The Democrat had been accused of using state funds to create political advertising. 
If the jury tasked with deciding the fate of John Edwards is following the judge’s direction, only the jury’s eight men and four women know what their deliberations have focused on for the past four days. Keep up with the latest political stories with our free daily e-mail newsletter, delivered straight to your inbox!
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