Texas State Legislative Election 2014 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-choice

2. Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy?
- No

3. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- Yes

4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- No Answer

6. Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- No Answer

7. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures?
- No

8. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- No

9. Other or expanded principles
- Minors seeking an abortion probably will require a case by case review (e.g., cases of incest, genetic test verified, parental/guardian involvement might be problematic). There most certainly are other circumstances where a minor seeking to terminate a pregnancy is fraught with complications...

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Education (higher)
- Greatly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase

3. Environment
- Slightly Increase

4. Health care
- No Answer

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Maintain Status

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Greatly Increase

7. Welfare
- No Answer

8. Other or expanded categories
- Health care would be expanded by increasing access to Medicaid in compliance with ACA; brings Texas's federal tax dollars back to Texas. Increasing the minimum wage, till full time work produces an income someone could live on, would probably allow welfare spending to be reduced.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Gas/Oil taxes
- Slightly Increase

4. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease

5. Sales taxes
- Slightly Decrease

6. Other or expanded principles
- There are quite a few difficult issues that the state has created for itself: insufficient funds for education; high, state wide property* taxes; high, state wide sales* taxes; shuffling around revenue from fees and charges, that are theoretically dedicated, when complex, artificially obtuse budget and spending needs arise. *technically disallowed by the Texas' state constitution.

1. Tapping into Texas's "rainy day" fund
- No Answer

2. Increasing tuition rates at public universities
- No Answer

3. Reducing or eliminating public worker collective bargaining
- No Answer

4. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions
- No Answer

5. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees
- No Answer

6. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- No Answer

7. Other or expanded principles
- There are functions that the state of Texas provides that must be funded and might require incurring debt. Texas has, over time and in an attempt to create the illusion of fiscal responsibility, created a labyrinth of state revenue and spending that will require an immense amount of work to correct (make simpler, more transparent and actually achieving fiscal responsibility); almost certainly including serious changes to the state's constitution.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Individual
- Yes

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- Yes

5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- No Answer

6. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes

7. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- Yes

8. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- No Answer

1. Other or expanded principles
- Limiting the amount a candidate might receive from any donor limits any spending except from the candidate's own funds. Photo id can be required only when government assistance is available to help eligible voters procure appropriate photo id.

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- No Answer

2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes

3. Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- Yes

4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- No

5. Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges?
- No Answer

6. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- I'd prefer not to have capital punishment after certain crimes carry a possible life sentence, without parole, for those convicted of said crime(s). A minor convicted of certain violent crimes should have their case reviewed, be transferred to adult confinement, upon reaching the age of majority. Minors distributing pornographic images by any means should be reviewed on a case by case basis.

Economic

1. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- No

2. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- Yes

3. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- Yes

4. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- No

5. Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

6. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- No Answer

7. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage?
- Yes

8. Do you support a guest worker program in Texas?
- No

9. Other or expanded principles
- Mortgages should be able to be reworked via bankruptcy.

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- No Answer

2. Do you support a merit pay system for teachers?
- No Answer

3. Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers?
- No Answer

4. Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school?
- No

5. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- No

6. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- Yes

7. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Texas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- Common standards for school curriculum should probably be adopted, but I don't know if, "Common Core," ought to be that standard. Teacher's pay and tenure should be discussed and guidelines or regulations should become law. It is appropriate to note that those claiming a teacher's rate of pay, work hours and tenure are extravagant often don't avail themselves of said great circumstances; don't teach.

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy?
- Yes

2. Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- No

3. Do you support state funding for improvements to Texas's energy infrastructure?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Yes

5. Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Gun

1. Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- Yes

3. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- Yes

4. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Health

1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- Yes

2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- No

3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- No Answer

4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act?
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- Yes

6. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- No

7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- Yes

8. Other or expanded principles
- All lawsuits should be subject to actual, "loser pays," regulations that are standard legal practice through out the industrialized nations of the world, except for here in the United States of America.

Social

1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- Yes

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to form civil unions?
- No Answer

3. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Texas's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

4. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Texas's anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

In the following area, on an attached page, or via e-mail, please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
- Improve access to health care... First, is to expand access to Medicaid; Medicare for all (a.k.a., Single Payer Health Care [SPH]) is the long term solution. The DREAM Act will become law. Conservation, solar and wind energy will replace 'all of the above' with much more sustainable, long term sources of electricity. The funding of public education, pre-K through post graduate, will improve. Planning, installing, operating, maintaining and replacing common carrier infrastructure will also improve. The original Crowd Sourcing (a.k.a., taxpayers) is the only group with the means and motivation to accomplish these things as well as is possible.