People & politics.

• Position: Trends And Transitions

The North Carolina House, evenly split between Republicans and Democrats, had a "successful and historical" session, according to GOP Co-Speaker Richard Morgan. Democratic Co-Speaker Jim Black said, "Everyone predicted chaos and just that it was going to be the end of the world." The session ended with an all-nighter July 26, and the November election will determine who takes control. But the two leaders will be back. Black has no opponent in the general election and Morgan survived a primary challenge in July.

Things were not as rosy in Illinois. When the legislature adjourned in July after the longest over-time session in state history, the political promise of just 18 months ago seemed fractured. Democrats had captured both houses and the governorship for the first time in a generation. But with no budget agreement by June 1, and months of public feuding, the governor began calling legislators back into special session nearly every day. An agreement was reached the weekend before the Democratic National Convention. "The biggest loser this session is the democratic process," said Representative John Fritchey. "The democratic process in Springfield is on life support. This is not how government is supposed to work."

We're leading the way and it's incredible," says Arizona Representative Warde Nichols of the state's new "Geri's Law," which he sponsored. The law closed a loophole that prevented victims of physical and sexual assaults from suing their attackers. The bill passed unanimously in both houses in less than six weeks, extending the statute of limitations for a number of crimes to one year after the conviction of the criminal. Two women have already benefited from the law. One was awarded $10 million for the murder of her son more than 20 years ago.

Patrick Ballantine, North Carolina Senate Republican leader for six years until he quit the legislature in the spring, is the GOP candidate for governor. Ballantine and another candidate each won 30 percent of the vote in a six-person primary, but he avoided a runoff after the other man unexpectedly withdrew. The 39-year-old said his years in the Senate didn't offer him a lot of opportunities to push through major legislation. "You know when you're in the majority you can't get everything you...