Gov. Haley Barbour got most of what he wanted from the Mississippi House and Senate this year, making his fifth legislative session one of his most successful so far.

As the 3 1/2-month session ended late last week, the Republican chief executive had generous words for all 52 members of the Senate and 122 members of the House — even the ones who grumble that he’s too heavy-handed in setting state policies.

“A lot of the stories tend to be about what they haven’t done. I think a lot of credit is due the Legislature,” Barbour said during a meeting with reporters in the Capitol press room.

The governor won his second term in November and was inaugurated in January. A few days after his swearing-in, he outlined an ambitious agenda during his State of the State address.

He urged lawmakers to reduce the long-term debt and to fill the state’s “rainy day fund” that serves as a financial cushion. He also said they needed to be cautious with state spending.

“This will require considerable budget discipline. It means we’ll have to tell some people ’no.’ It means some good things won’t get funded or won’t get as much funding as some people would like,” Barbour said in a crowded House chamber Jan. 21.

Legislators found a way to say “no” to millions of dollars of spending requests. Next year’s budget will be only about 1 percent larger than this year’s. The minuscule growth rate reflects caution in a time of economic uncertainty for the state and nation.

“They have a very responsible, conservative budget,” Barbour said last week.

He also asked legislators this session to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program, a complex budget formula for elementary and secondary schools. They did so, for the second year in a row. And it’s worth noting that some lawmakers, particularly in the House, pushed for full funding of MAEP throughout the previous four-year term, even when Barbour said the money wasn’t available.

The governor got his request this year for a dyslexia screening program for young children and a mentoring program that will allow experienced teachers to guide new ones.

Legislators also set aside $3 million to provide financial incentives for preschools to increase their educational content, as Barbour requested.

No one gets everything they want at the Mississippi Capitol and, of course, a few of the governor’s requests failed.

Barbour wanted to take away the civil-service protection from many state employees. He said this would give agency directors more flexibility to “achieve savings and greater efficiencies and effectiveness.” His request was blocked by lawmakers who worried that removing the Personnel Board protection could cost some state workers their jobs if the workers support the wrong candidate for an elected office.

The governor wanted to establish a voluntary program to help small businesses provide affordable health insurance for their employees. That plan died.

And, Barbour said he wanted a long-term solution to bolster the budget of Medicaid, a health coverage program for the needy, aged, blind and disabled and for low-income families with children. When the regular session ended, the Medicaid budget still had a $90 million hole for the coming year.