Session goes smoothly, but big issues await '08

The day after the close of the 2007 General Assembly, Gov. Martin O'Malley gathered yesterday with state leaders to sign 105 bills into law.

Sitting between Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller, Jr., and House Speaker Michael E. Busch, the governor beamed, focusing on the successes of the session and barely hinting at the storm clouds gathering for January 2008.

"We found consensus to advance the common good," Mr. O'Malley said. "We really made some phenomenal progress."

Although the past 90 days produced record amounts of school construction funding, a statewide smoking ban, a living wage for state contractors and...