West Virginia State Legislative Election 2000 National Political Awareness Test

Abortion

Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning abortion.

1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer

2. Abortions should always be legally available.
- No Answer

3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- X

4. Abortions should be legal when pregnancy results from incest, rape or when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X

5. Support West Virginia's requirement that abortions be limited by waiting periods and parental notification.
- X

6. Support West Virginia's prohibition of the dilation and extraction procedure, also known as "partial-birth" abortion.
- X

7. Support "buffer zones" at abortion clinics by requiring demonstrators to remain a certain distance from doorways and driveways.
- No Answer

8. Other
- No Answer

9. Do you support a ban on Medicaid-financed abortions in West Virginia?
- Yes

Budget and Tax

State Budget: Indicate the funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories.

1. Education (Higher)
- Maintain Funding Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase Funding

3. Environment
- Maintain Funding Status

4. Health care
- Slightly Increase Funding

5. Law enforcement
- Maintain Funding Status

6. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase Funding

7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease Funding

8. Other
- No Answer

State Taxes: Indicate the tax levels (#1-6) you support.

1. Alcohol taxes
- No Answer

2. Capital gains taxes
- No Answer

3. Cigarette taxes
- No Answer

4. Corporate taxes
- No Answer

5. Estate taxes
- No Answer

6. Food taxes
- Eliminate

7. Gasoline taxes
- No Answer

8. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- No Answer

9. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- No Answer

10. Mineral reserves taxes
- No Answer

11. Property taxes
- No Answer

12. Sales taxes
- No Answer

13. Smokeless tobacco taxes
- No Answer

14. Vehicle taxes
- No Answer

15. Other
- No Answer

16. Should Internet sales be taxed?
- No

17. Do you support a flat tax structure for state income taxes?
- Yes

18. Would you support tax cuts or refunds if there were an operating surplus?
- Yes

19. Would you support placing any operating surplus into a "rainy day" fund?
- No Answer

Crime

Indicate which principles you support (if any) to address crime.

1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
- X

2. Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
- X

3. End parole for repeat violent offenders.
- X

4. Implement the death penalty in West Virginia.
- X

5. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X

6. Inform communities when a convicted sex offender moves into the community.
- X

7. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X

8. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer

9. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- X

10. Lower the blood-alcohol-content limit defining drunk driving.
- X

11. Prosecute as adults, youths accused of a felony.
- X

12. Increase penalties for crimes committed on school grounds.
- X

13. Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, and disability be prosecuted as hate crimes.
- No Answer

14. Support programs that provide job training and placement services for at-risk youth.
- X

15. Ban the use of racial profiling by law enforcement officers.
- No Answer

16. Support the creation of an independent citizen review board to oversee and investigate law enforcement agencies.
- No Answer

17. Other
- No Answer

Education

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

1. Increase state funds for professional development of public school teachers and administrators.
- No Answer

2. Encourage private or corporate investment in public school programs.
- X

3. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
- X

4. Support charter schools where teachers and professionals receive authorization and funding to establish new schools.
- No Answer

5. Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
- No Answer

6. Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers.
- No Answer

7. Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
- X

8. Support posting the Ten Commandments in public schools.
- X

9. Require public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- No Answer

10. Support national standards and testing of public school students.
- No Answer

11. Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
- No Answer

12. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- X

13. Support West Virginia's Promise Scholarship program.
- No Answer

14. Increase the number of official school days for West Virginia students.
- No Answer

15. Other
- No Answer

Employment and Affirmative Action

Employment: Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning employment.

1. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X

2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- X

3. Support limits on cash damages in lawsuits against businesses and professionals for product liability or malpractice.
- X

4. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- No Answer

5. License and regulate video poker machines.
- No Answer

6. Require construction firms receiving state contracts to guarantee that 90% of hired employees would be state residents.
- No Answer

7. Other
- No Answer

Affirmative Action: Which of the following state agencies should take race and sex into account when making employment decisions?

1. College and university admissions
- No Answer

2. Public employment
- No Answer

3. State contracting
- No Answer

4. Other
- No Answer

Environment & Energy

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

1. Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels to reduce pollution.
- No Answer

2. Require a cost/benefit analysis to determine the economic impact of proposed environmental regulations before they are implemented.
- No Answer

3. Require the state to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses on privately owned land.
- X

4. Provide funding for recycling programs in West Virginia.
- No Answer

5. Request added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environmental regulations.
- No Answer

6. Suspend participation in un-funded, federally-mandated environmental protection legislation.
- X

7. Restructure the electric utility industry to allow consumers to choose their power companies.
- No Answer

8. Increase regulations for mountaintop removal.
- No Answer

9. Strengthen regulations on quarrying operations and reclamation.
- No Answer

10. Other
- No Answer

11. Should state environmental regulations be stricter than federal law?
- No

Government Reform

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding government reform.

1. Do you support the current limit on terms for West Virginia Governors?
- Undecided

2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for West Virginia State Senators and Representatives?
- Undecided

Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

1. Individual
- Yes

2. PAC
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Parties
- Yes

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?
- Yes

7. Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
- Undecided

8. Do you support voting on-line?
- Undecided

9. Do you support on-line voter registration?
- Undecided

10. Do you support a West Virginia constitutional amendment that would exempt veteran's pensions from state income taxes?
- Yes

11. Do you support non-partisan elections of West Virginia justices?
- Yes

12. Do you support West Virginia's court decision that takes away the ability to vote in a primary election for those who sign a petition to place a third party gubernatorial candidate on the ballot?
- No

13. Other
- No Answer

Gun

Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning gun issues.

1. Ban the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
- No Answer

2. Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer

3. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- X

4. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- X

5. Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
- X

6. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
- No Answer

7. Require background checks of gun buyers at gun shows.
- No Answer

8. Require a license for gun possession.
- No Answer

9. Allow cities and counties in West Virginia to enact gun control legislation.
- No Answer

10. Other
- No Answer

Health

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health issues.

1. Provide tax incentives to small businesses that provide health care to their employees.
- X

2. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care where necessary.
- X

3. Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- No Answer

4. Use state funds to continue some Medicaid coverage for legal immigrants.
- No Answer

5. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- X

6. Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
- No Answer

7. Guaranteeing medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer

8. Support using part of the West Virginia tobacco settlement funds to make Medicaid payments.
- X

9. Increase funds for PEIA (Public Employees Insurance Agency).
- No Answer

10. Support state funding for veterans' nursing homes.
- X

11. Support expanding CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Program) to include more children.
- X

12. Other
- No Answer

Social

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.

1. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees.
- X

2. Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- No Answer

3. Deny or suspend state-issued permits and licenses to parents who are delinquent in paying court-ordered child support.
- X

4. Increase state funding for Head Start in order to serve additional children and/or increase services from a half to a full day.
- No Answer

5. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- X

6. Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans, and job training and placement.
- No Answer

7. Other
- No Answer

8. Should physician assisted suicide be legally available in West Virginia?
- No

9. Should West Virginia include sexual orientation in it's anti-discrimination laws?
- No Answer

10. Should West Virginia recognize same-sex marriages?
- No

11. Should West Virginia restrict marriage to a relationship only between a man and a woman?
- Yes

Welfare

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare.

1. Maintain current time limits on welfare benefits.
- No Answer

2. Maintain the requirement that able-bodied recipients work in order to receive benefits.
- X

3. Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X

4. Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
- X

5. Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- X

6. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- X

7. Allow welfare recipients to remain eligible for benefits while saving money for education, starting a business, or buying a home.
- No Answer

8. Limit benefits given to recipients if they have additional children while on welfare.
- X

9. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer

10. Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
- No Answer

11. Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to expand state services to include the working poor.
- X

12. Allow college attendance to qualify as part of the work requirement for welfare recipients.
- No Answer

13. Support using TANF funds to institute a state Earned Income Tax Credit.
- No Answer

14. Other
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

In a total of seventy-five (75) words or less, please explain what your two main legislative priorities will be if elected. Please explain how you would obtain any additional government funding needed to implement these priorities.
- Eliminate the Budget Digest and use that money for "better government not bigger government" - a quote often used by Governor Underwood.