When the 2022 legislative session began, Gov. Jared Polis promised he’d tackle the two greatest problems plaguing our state.

“Saving Coloradans money and keeping our state affordable is my top priority this session,” Polis promised in his State of the State address. “We owe it to the people of Colorado to improve safety and make Colorado truly one of the safest states in the nation over the next several years,” he added.

But since the General Assembly wrapped its 120-day session shortly before midnight Wednesday, is Colorado safer and more affordable?

Last year, the House and Senate passed a series of “fees,” ostensibly to pay for infrastructure improvements. These included a new gas tax, which Democrats called a “fee” so they could bypass the state constitution’s requirement that voters approve new taxes.

When Polis signed Senate Bill 260, Coloradans were already struggling to recover from pandemic pains. Legislators ignored economic reality and inflicted the “fees” anyway. This year, as prices at the pump suck wallets dry, they couldn’t dismiss inflation any longer.

Democrats voted to push off their own tax — one they originally circumvented the state constitution to approve — by one year, until after the election. Meanwhile, in pursuit of Polis’s greenhouse emission targets, they worked diligently to pass several bills that will inevitably spark greater spikes in home and auto energy prices.

Similarly, the General Assembly passed a bill to distribute what Polis called “a Colorado Dividend.” Truthfully, this outwardly novel concept was simply the tax refund required by the Taxpayer’s Bill of Rights for when government revenues exceed limits. Democrats merely modified the payout formula and timing.

Ironically, if they had their way in 2019, they couldn’t even do this in the first place. Fortunately, voters defeated Proposition CC — an attempt to permanently lift TABOR’s spending limit. Now they’re counting on TABOR as their cost-of-living argument?

Let’s be real: This year’s two major cost-of-living bills weren’t authentic attempts to save Coloradans money. They were disingenuous, old-fashioned campaign gimmicks.

Unfortunately, it gets worse. In 2019 and 2020, Polis and Attorney General Phil Weiser similarly abandoned discernment when they pushed several bills undermining public safety. Among the most troubling was the 2019 law which “defelonized” possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use. Over objections calling for the deadly drug fentanyl to be excluded, Polis signed the bill with Weiser’s fervent support.

Since then, numerous DAs and law enforcement officials — on both sides of the aisle — have vigorously criticized the law for precipitating a fentanyl crisis that is now the leading cause of death among Coloradans aged 18 to 45.

In 2019, 222 Coloradans died of fentanyl overdoses. Two years later, that number quadrupled — to nearly 900 deaths. Mounting drug use in turn triggers more crime. Consequently, earlier this year, both Polis and Weiser finally came around to the need to tighten fentanyl laws.

Shockingly, the legislature barely passed its modest fentanyl legislation at the eleventh hour — literally — as the legislature was ending its annual session.

“The frenetic, last-minute changes to perhaps the most consequential bill of the session underscores how dysfunctional the Democrat-dominated legislature has been,” said 18th Judicial District Attorney John Kellner, the Republican nominee for attorney general. “This isn’t legislation to name a local post office.”

Kellner is right. Even if you believe the “compromise” bill is “better than nothing” — itself a dubious claim — the fact that the General Assembly pushed fentanyl literally down to the wire is egregious and unacceptable. It highlights the failure of focus which defines this legislative session.

Tragically, the most crucial goals were cast aside. Democrats killed some two dozen Republican bills to “make Colorado affordable” and “prioritize public safety.” Instead, they prioritized legislation that made little — if any — practical sense.

Anticipating the U.S. Supreme Court might overturn its abortion-rights decision in Roe v. Wade, Democrats passed the most permissive abortion law in the country. Contra their arguments, the law goes far beyond Roe by ensuring there are virtually no restrictions on abortion.

While some states could justify proactive abortion laws, Colorado didn’t need one. Even if Roe gets overturned, abortion rights would remain unchanged here because we are a “code state.” Unless a law expressly makes an activity illegal, it is legal. History also shows Coloradans are highly unlikely to meaningfully restrict abortion. Colorado legislators genuinely didn’t “need to act” on abortion. They needed to act on crime and inflation.

Democrats similarly wasted time pushing legislation to force collective bargaining for public employees upon local governments. While the final bill was ultimately watered-down after considerable opposition from counties — 75% of county officials opposed the bill — it was yet another unnecessary distraction from the pressing issues.

A former congressman, Polis is known to be deeply, personally involved in legislative lobbying. Somehow, the General Assembly still had hundreds of bills on the docket as of Monday, especially fentanyl. House case manager, Rep. Daneya Esgar, worked from home in Pueblo. Speaker Alec Garnett seemed incapable of herding the cats. Who was in charge? No one, really.

When there’s a vacuum in leadership, things fall through the cracks. Vital priorities. Like saving Coloradans money and improving public safety. That’s exactly what happened. In the end, another frivolous and counterproductive legislative session fundamentally reflects an absence of leadership and sincere priorities.

Jimmy Sengenberger is host of “The Jimmy Sengenberger Show” Saturdays from 6 to 9 a.m. on News/Talk 710 KNUS. He also hosts “Jimmy at the Crossroads,” a webshow and podcast in partnership with The Washington Examiner.