A lot got shelved in 2020, including the public option. How many will live again 2021 and how many are dead, dead, dead?

Money will dictate just what gets passed and by whom. Sen. Democratic Sen. Dominick Moreno of Commerce City, chair of the powerful Joint Budget Committee, said spending-plan writers have about $1 billion to work with.

Sounds like a lot, right? Not so much.

It would be if it was money the state could count on past the 2021-22 year, but it’s all one-time dollars. On top of that, revenue forecasts from both the Legislative Council’s economists and the governor’s Office of State Planning and Budgeting say that 2022-23 and for at least the year after that, the state is expected to have more costs than income. That means belt-tightening for the foreseeable future and no new programs that require money after the first year.

In other words, one-time dollars.

Still, those one-time dollars could go a long way toward helping Coloradans struggling through the economic devastation of the pandemic.

That leaves on the floor (or in the wastebasket) practically every other major priority that requires more than one-time funds.

Issues that could see a new look in the new year include:

Health care. Transparency on billing and prescription drug pricing, maybe; anything that requires state money, nyet. That would include providing behavioral health professionals in schools or other facilities, for example.

Transportation. The “shovel-ready public works” projects part of the Polis stimulus could provide up to 15,000 temporary jobs, some of that in public construction of infrastructure. But roads are a long-term issue, one that requires long-term funding.

Oil and gas regulations. The state is still under that handshake deal with oil and gas and the environmental lobby to allow Senate Bill 19-181 to be fully implemented before anyone tries to make any other changes. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission voted to finalize rule changes in November for implementation in 2021.

Gun control. Do lawmakers have the stomach for a big fight on the issue in 2021? There were two bills introduced late in the first part of the 2020 session, on storing weapons and reporting when a firearm has been lost or stolen. Both were canned by Democrats, again, last session.

Animal rights. Legislation could be pushed by the first gentleman, Marlon Reis, including the Humane Pet Act, which sought to ban the sales of dogs and cats in pet stores (HB 20-1084), and a ban on using “exotic animals” in traveling performances (SB 125).

Plastics ban. This one’s a bit iffy. It doesn’t cost the state any money to put in a ban, but retail stores, restaurants and even long-term care facilities rely heavily on one-time use plastics to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. This could prove a law of unintended consequences.

Handheld devices while driving ban. There’s no state cost involved, but the politics are sticky and could be a symbol of overreach in next year’s elections. The issue has been before the legislature, but always devolves into compromises that water it down, only for it to come back.

Year-round Daylight Savings Time. A bill whose time has come, which sponsors say every year, and gone. Again, there is no state cost. But some see it more as the job of Congress and, again, laden with indirect problems.

Police radio transparency. Could this be the year that Rep. Kevin Van Winkle, R-Highlands Ranch, gets his bill through? He’s tried it three years running, but the issue might get support from Democrats in light of police response to the 2020 protests.

Recycled remains. Allowing the composting of human remains.

Lingering business bill. Arbitration also went by the wayside during the second part of the regular session. No cost to the state involved here, either, and that could easily make a return in 2021. (SB 93)

Barack Obama Highway. Designating a portion of Interstate 25 in Denver to honor the former president could pick up speed with his VP soon to be in the White House.

Extend the statute of limitations for sexual abuse. The bill was pulled in 2020 but could resurface in 2021.

Conservation easements. Reparations for rural Coloradans who lost millions in tax credits are a non-starter in 2021 and likely for the foreseeable future, but there are other elements in the 2020 bill that could go forward and would no cost the state any money, such as rethinking how easements are valued, as well as dealing with abandoned or orphan easements.

BOX:

Gov. Jared Polis has proposed a $1.3 billion stimulus package for 2021-22, focused entirely on programs relying on one-time dollars:

• $168 million for benefits for low- and middle-income workers who are jobless
• $105 million for “winter support” for small businesses, largely restaurants and bars, hit by capacity restrictions
• $220 million for “shovel-ready public works and infrastructure projects” and the “new outdoor economy”
• $160 million for broadband investments, including education and telehealth
• $140 million for “upskilling and investment”
• $78 million for wildfire response
• $50 million for housing eviction prevention
• $4 million in grants to pay for body cams for law enforcement
• $200 million for “one-time stimulus legislative priorities.”