“And we just kind of left it there,” Hisey said. “Then some time later, when I was talking to him again, he said, ‘You mentioned the JBC. Well, it’s a possibility.'”

He said he’s now attending daily meetings of the committee to learn about its recent work and set priorities, and he’s been “somewhat familiar” with the issues thanks to his county experience.

The JBC likely will take up funding for child welfare programs when the next Legislature convenes Jan. 4. Hisey said he’d also consider offering incentives statewide to companies that build affordable housing.

“It was a surprise issue in my district. It didn’t matter where I was, affordable housing or worker-type housing was an issue,” he said. “And homelessness has become an issue in Cañon City as the homeless kind of spread from the Colorado Springs and the Pueblo area. It’s a fairly recent phenomenon.”

Hisey will have valuable insight into such human services issues because of his county work, Grantham said.

“The state has to provide the funding, and the counties are providing the services,” he said. “He’s going to have a unique perspective on what we can and cannot do.”

Transportation also remains a top issue. Hisey said he doesn’t anticipate more money going to Interstate 25, which already is being widened between Castle Rock and Monument in a $350 million project. More likely, he said, the state might issue bonds to build and maintain roads, and the JBC would have to find the money to pay for them.