Terri Austin is a Democratic member of the Indiana House of Representatives, representing District 36. Austin is running for re-election in the primary on May 8, 2018. The general election will take place on November 6, 2018.
Austin's professional experience includes working as an Assistant Professor with the School of Education at Anderson University, Executive Director of Community Alliances to Promote Education, Administrator/Teacher with the Anderson Community School Corporation and serving in the Madison County Superior Courts.
Advisory Board, National Conference of State Legislators, 2005-present
Former Member, Education Committee, Indiana State House of Representatives
Vice Chair, Standing Committee on Economic Development, Trade, and Cultural Affairs, National Conference of State Legislatures, 2003-2005
Ranking Minority Member, Insurance
Member, Public Policy
Member, Rules and Legislative Procedures
Member, Statutory Committee on Ethics
— Awards:
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should always be legal.
- No Answer
3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- X
4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- X
5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X
6. Prohibit public funding of abortions and to organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
- No Answer
7. Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
- X
8. Require women be told that a fetus may feel pain during an abortion and that life begins at conception.
- No Answer
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Education (Higher)
- Maintain Status
2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase
3. Environment
- Slightly Increase
4. Health care
- Slightly Increase
5. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase
6. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Slightly Decrease
7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease
8. Emergency preparedness
- Maintain Status
9. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status
2. Capital gains taxes
- Maintain Status
3. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Increase
4. Corporate taxes
- Maintain Status
5. Gasoline taxes
- Slightly Decrease
6. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Maintain Status
7. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Maintain Status
8. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease
9. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status
10. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status
11. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
12. Should the state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- No
13. Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- Yes
14. Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
- Undecided
15. Do you support the "Major Moves" Initiative to lease out the Tollway and use the money to fund road projects?
- No
16. Other or expanded principles
- Budgets and programs should be on a pay as you go basis.
1. Do you support the current limit of terms for Indiana governors?
- Yes
2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for Indiana state senators and representatives?
- No
1. Individual
- No
2. PAC
- No
3. Corporate
- Yes
4. Political Parties
- No
5. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
6. Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
- No
7. Do you support adopting statewide standards for counting, verifying and ensuring accuracy of votes?
- Yes
8. Do you support prohibiting media exit polling of voters until all polling locations in Indiana are closed?
- No
9. Should Indiana recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- Yes
10. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
- No Answer
2. Support the death penalty in Indiana.
- X
3. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X
4. End parole for repeat violent offenders.
- X
5. Implement other penalties than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X
6. Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
- No Answer
7. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- No Answer
8. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- X
9. Require that crimes based on race, ethnic background, religious belief, sex, age, disability, or sexual orientation be prosecuted as hate crimes.
- No Answer
10. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- X
11. Increase state funding for state and local emergency agencies to prevent or respond to terrorism.
- No Answer
12. Strengthen sex-offender laws.
- X
13. Support the restriction of the sale of products used to make Methamphetamine (e.g. tablets containing Pseudophedrine, Ephedrine and Phenylpropanolamine.)
- X
14. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support national standards and testing of public school students.
- No Answer
2. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any public school.
- No Answer
3. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
- No Answer
4. Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
- No Answer
5. Increase funds for hiring additional teachers.
- X
6. Support teacher testing and reward with merit pay.
- No Answer
7. Endorse voluntary prayer in public schools.
- X
8. Require public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- X
9. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- No Answer
10. Increase funding for Head Start programs.
- No Answer
11. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- X
12. Support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods.
- No Answer
13. Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.
- No Answer
14. Other or expanded principles
- pilot pre K programs and full day kindergarten
1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that retrain displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X
2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- X
3. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X
4. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- X
5. Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- X
6. Include sexual orientation in Indiana's anti-discrimination laws.
- X
7. Increase the state minimum wage.
- X
8. Other or expanded principles
- pilot to allow pooling of insurance for small businesses.
1. Public employment
- No Answer
2. State college and university admissions
- No Answer
3. State contracting
- No Answer
4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
- X
2. Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, and oil).
- No Answer
3. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
- X
4. Increase funding for improvements to Indiana's power generating and transmission facilities.
- No Answer
5. Support funding for open space preservation.
- X
6. Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
- X
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
2. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
3. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer
4. Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- X
5. Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
- No Answer
6. Require a license for gun possession.
- X
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
- X
2. Transfer current Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- No Answer
3. Limit the amount of punitive damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- X
4. Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
- No Answer
5. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer
6. Legalize physician assisted suicide in Indiana.
- No Answer
7. Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
- No Answer
2. Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X
3. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- X
4. Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
- No Answer
5. Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to extend health and child care subsidies to the working poor.
- X
6. Support marriage promotion programs for welfare recipients.
- No Answer
7. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
On an attached page, disk, or via email, please explain in a total of 75 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.
- 1. State and regional economic development:It is important that we invest in Indiana people and businesses. Although attracting new business and industry to our state is important, it is time that we give more support and attention to existing Hoosier businesses.
2: Increased educational attainment for all HoosiersThe quality of our educational system and the knowledge and skills of our current and future workforce are critical to our long-term economic prosperity.
Type: concurrent resolution Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Sat 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM EST
City of Anderson Government Anderson, IN