A quick look at the good, bad and ugly of the state legislative session that ended Thursday shows that the good outweighed the bad.

THE GOOD

School funding: For the first time in a number of years, the legislature fully funded the base per pupil allocation as mandated by law. Spending for kindergarten through 12th grade is up by $315 million.

Vouchers: The legislature wisely resisted a massive lobbying effort to siphon money from the general fund to reward parents for taking their children out of public schools. This legislation, called Put Parents in Charge, also would have let businesses decide how to spend their tax dollars.

Environmental crime: This bill answers a call from a long string of state attorneys general who needed more power to tackle environmental crime. Now, the state grand jury can investigate major environmental crimes by subpoenaing records and forcing witnesses to testify.

Medicaid: The legislature increased Medicaid allocations by $67 million, which keeps this soaring public expense in line with demand from 850,000 South Carolinians with little means.

Mental health insurance: This is a stab at the long-sought parity for mental illnesses to be treated like physical illnesses. It requires companies that have more than 50 employees and that offer health insurance to include coverage of certain mental illnesses.

Charter schools: The legislature defeated an effort to create a new state school bureaucracy to take charter school decisions away from the local school districts.

Student fitness: Children in kindergarten through grade 5 soon will get more physical education instruction and activity at school, and schools will have to provide more nutritious meals.

Business tax equity: Small business owners will soon enjoy the same 5 percent tax rate that large corporations pay.

Domestic violence: The legislature passed a law to stiffen penalties for domestic violence.

Seat belts: After many years of trying, the legislature passed a law aimed at increasing use of seat belts.

Stalking: This new law increases penalties for harassment and stalking and gives victims more rights.

Jobs: Small business will get broader breaks for hiring more workers.

Doctor complaints: The legislature passed a bill aimed at giving the public more information sooner when formal complaints are filed against a doctor. We're afraid it has a huge loophole in it, but it is a step in the right direction.

Hotel sprinklers: Perhaps in reaction to a deadly fire in the Upstate, the legislature passed a bill requiring hotels without sprinkler systems to post warning signs.

Hog farms: A bill wisely was defeated that would have cut the ability of local communities to control their own destinies. It would have prevented local governments from enacting tougher laws for huge hog or chicken farms than state law.

Billboards: This is another case where the General Assembly took a step forward by refusing to pass a bad bill. It would have forced local governments to pay large sums to billboard owners if they wanted to regulate billboards out of their communities.

Personal income tax: A proposal to lower personal income tax rates failed. The state could not afford it.

Minibottles: The legislature acted on the details needed to remove minibottles from bars and restaurants, something voters approved last year in a referendum to change the state constitution.

Law enforcement: More money was put into public safety positions, many of them cut in recent budget years.

Trust funds: The budget restores a good deal of the money raided from trust funds. It is not as much as Gov. Mark Sanford wanted, but it goes a long way to address the problem.

Tort reform: This cap on pain-and-suffering awards on medical malpractice suits is considered one of the major achievements of the legislative session. Doctors fought hard for it, saying many communities could be left without doctors if something was not done. But we question whether this will have any impact on soaring health care costs to the consumers. Small businesses also got new limits in liability.

THE BAD

Transfer fee: Local governments need the option to impose a slight real estate transfer fee to fund land conservation. This idea got nowhere.

Day care: An effort to lower class sizes failed.

Government restructuring: Efforts to move more constitutional officers to members of the governor's cabinet failed.

THE UGLY

Domestic violence: State Rep. John Graham Altman's callous, sexist comments indicating that battered women had it coming embarrassed the General Assembly. So did a House committee meeting where members made light of women who repeatedly are battered.