Massachusetts State Legislative Election 2006 National Political Awareness Test

Abortion

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

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.
- No Answer

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. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Budget and Tax

State Budget: Indicate the funding levels (#1-6) you will support for the following general categories. Select one level per category.

1. Education (Higher)
- Slightly Increase

2. Education (K-12, Chapter 70)
- Slightly Increase

3. Emergency preparedness
- Greatly Increase

4. Environment
- Slightly Increase

5. Health care
- Slightly Increase

6. Law enforcement
- Greatly Increase

7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

8. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

9. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

State Taxes: Indicate the tax levels (#1-6) you will support. Select one level per tax.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Capital gains taxes
- Slightly Decrease

3. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

4. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

5. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Income taxes
- Slightly Decrease

7. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease

8. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

9. Vehicle taxes
- Slightly Decrease

10. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

11. Should the state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- Undecided

12. Should accounts such as a ?rainy day? fund be used to balance the state budget?
- No

13. Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
- No

14. Should Massachusetts lower the income tax from 5.3 to 5 percent only if the state meets 2002 education funding levels?
- No

15. Do you support allowing slot machines at Massachusetts racing tracks?
- No

16. Other or expanded principles
- (n) education levels should not be the only factor.

Campaign Finance and Governmental Reform

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

1. Do you support limiting the number of terms for Massachusetts governors?
- No

2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for Massachusetts state senators and representatives?
- No

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 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 Massachusetts are closed?
- Yes

9. Should Massachusetts continue to recognize marriages between same-sex couples?
- Yes

10. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Crime

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

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

2. Implement the death penalty in Massachusetts.
- No Answer

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 penalties other 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.
- X

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.
- X

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

11. Strengthen sex-offender laws.
- X

12. Support the restriction of the sale of products used to make methamphetamine (e.g. tablets containing pseudophedrine, ephedrine and phenylpropanolamine).
- X

13. Allow police to ticket motorists for not wearing their safety belts, even if they have committed no other traffic violation.
- No Answer

14. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Education

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

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).
- X

5. Increase funds for hiring additional teachers.
- X

6. Support teacher testing and reward with merit pay.
- X

7. Endorse voluntary prayer in public schools.
- X

8. Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- No Answer

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

10. Increase funding for Head Start programs.
- X

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.
- X

13. Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.
- No Answer

14. Allow undocumented immigrant high school graduates to pay in-state tuition at Massachusetts public universities.
- No Answer

15. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Employment and Affirmative Action

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

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. Support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Massachusetts? anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer

7. Increase the minimum wage automatically every year according to the rate of inflation.
- No Answer

8. Require businesses to offer employees up to 12 weeks paid family leave annually, funded by an account into which employees must pay.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Affirmative Action: Should race, ethnicity or gender be taken into account in state agencies? decisions on:

1. Public employment
- No

2. State college and university admissions
- No

3. State contracting
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Environment & Energy

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

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).
- X

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 Massachusetts' power generating and transmission facilities.
- X

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

Gun

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

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.
- No Answer

5. Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
- X

6. Require a license for gun possession.
- X

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Health

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

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.
- No Answer

4. Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
- X

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

6. Legalize physician assisted suicide in Massachusetts.
- No Answer

7. Allow doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- X

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Welfare and Poverty

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

1. Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
- X

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

Legislative Priorities

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.
- No Answer