Texas State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

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

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

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

4. Other or expanded principles
- I will always vote to protect women's health choices. The decision to carry a child is a woman's to make, consulting her own beliefs and the advice of medical professionals she selects. I regard the position of the Republican Party of Texas, on this issue, to be tantamount to a "rapists bill of rights." It also grants more rights to the perpetrators of incest than it does their victims. I trust women to make wise and compassionate choices.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Do you support the creation of a state income tax in Texas?
- Yes

1. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions?
- No

2. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees?
- No

3. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients?
- No

4. Other or expanded principles
- Texas has the third most regressive tax structure in the nation. The most vulnerable pay more taxes as a percentage of their income than all others. They pay 15.6% while those who top the income distribution pay only 4.2% of their average income. While much attention is given to sunset reviews for regulations, we should consider sunset reviews for tax cuts. The natural gas industry is currently exempt from severance taxes. We need to end the misnamed "Equal and Uniform" clause governing property appraisals that allows corporations to game the system while homeowners must pay tax on full property evaluations.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates?
- Yes

2. Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
- Yes

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

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- Our elections are kept artificially expensive so that wealthy people and the candidates they choose gain significant advantages. We need to end gerrymandering which has been plaguing Democracy here in Texas for far too long. There is no voter fraud crisis that warrants stringent voter-ID requirements. It is an effort to restrict voting in a way that favors the Republican party. I think we should have same day registration as voting, or mail everyone a ballot as they do in Oregon. We need to get money out of politics. End Citizens United!

Crime & Public Safety

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

2. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes?
- Yes

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

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- I oppose SB4 which forces municipalities and local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE. We need to establish sane and compassionate immigration policies. We are a nation built by immigrants and we should respect that. I totally oppose the incarceration of children separated from their families attempting to seek asylum in the United States. We need to end the phony "War on Drugs," which was always and remains a war on communities of color. We must work hard to end the New Jim Crow caste system. We should treat mental health issues in hospitals, not prisons.

Economic

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

2. Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

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

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

5. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- No

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

7. Other or expanded principles
- Hitching our economy to the Wall Street Casino, trying to attract businesses outside of Texas to relocate here, has largely failed. It fails to nurture and cultivate smaller, locally-owned enterprises already existing in Texas. We should bet on Main Street. I have detailed proposals, outlined on my website at AlecJohnsonForTexas.com/jobs. I support raising the minimum wage to $15 - a Living Wage. I believe in Equal Pay for Equal Work. Archaic rules allow 2% of the population to make investment decisions for 98% of the population. Locally owned businesses should have access to upwards of $15 trillion in investment capitol.

Education

1. Do you support adopting federal education standards in Texas?
- No

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

3. Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Texas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- Yes

4. Do you support increasing funding for the state education budget?
- Yes

5. Other or expanded principles
- Federal programs like "No Child Left Behind" and "Race to the Top" both promote high stakes testing which I oppose. We need to return control of education to locally elected school boards and teachers, represented by their unions. Texas must raise it's spending on education to at least the 50% level it used to fund. I think we need to either abolish the Texas State School Board or reform it so that only professional educators can sit on it. It has long been a national embarrassment and fails to serve the interests of Texas students, teachers, and their schools.

Environment & Energy

1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- Yes

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

3. Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
- Yes

4. Other or expanded principles
- Texas has a ring-side seat for the worst that Global Warming has to offer: fire, flood, and droughts. We already endured the super-charged Hurricane Harvey and can expect more. Texas has the greatest renewable energy potential in the Nation. Texas wind energy alone could power the entire country. Texas can be the Salvation of Our Nation! We need to embrace Our Clean Energy Future for our Children. Water, energy, and climate are inextricably linked and all are threatened by the business-as-usual scenario Republican leadership in Austin is devoted to. I'll take advice from Texas Living Waters project when I'm elected.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- Yes

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

3. Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom?
- No

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- Let me clarify, I support sensible gun reform which is quite different from "gun control." I am a responsible gun owner and support Second Amendment rights. I was awarded a "Candidate's Distinction" by Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense. I'm a co-founder of Texas Candidates for Gun Sense. I do not support the NRA's "guns everwhere" policies. Just as we accept that we don't have a right to a tank, bazooka, or a howitzer, we really don't need assault rifles designed to maximize killing on the battlefield. Our children's lives require we accept sensible reforms for the safety of everyone.

Health

1. Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse?
- Yes

2. Do you support Medicaid expansion through Texas's health care programs?
- Yes

3. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No

4. Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
- Yes

5. Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
- Yes

6. Do you support increasing funding for state medical facilities and hospitals in rural areas?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- Refusing Medicaid Expansion (ME) is beyond negligent. Texans are losing their lives from this refusal. Between 5,000 and 8,400 Texans are estimated to die prematurely because they lack adequate coverage which ME provides. Beyond increasing overall health and reducing mortality rates, accepting ME would stimulate the economy and create jobs. We can gain tens of $billions in economic growth and add tens of thousands of good paying jobs. According to a poll conducted by the Kaiser Family Foundation last June an overwhelming 65% of Texas voters support ME. I think we should move to a single payer healthcare system nationwide.

Social

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

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

3. Do you support greater efforts by Texas state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
- Yes

4. Should individuals be required to use a bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificate?
- No

5. Do you support the removal of Confederate statues from public spaces?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- We all suffer from the malevolent rule of the 1%. We outnumber them 99 to 1. They have mastered the strategy of divide and conquer. They make us think our differences are more important than the fact that we all suffer from their oppression. They make us think that differences of race, gender, religion, national origin, who we love, etc., are somehow more important than what unites us. My argument against the rule of the 1% isn?t that it makes us poor, although it does. It is that it makes us unfree. We live not in freedom but in domination.

Legislative Priorities

In the following area, 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.
- 1. Have Texas embrace it's clean energy future, promoting renewable energy development as an urgent priority. This highly profitable industry would be self-funding in the near term.2. Solve the education funding and homeowner property tax crises by closing corporate tax evasion loopholes, sunsetting unnecessary tax cuts and exemptions and restoring fairness in statewide school funding formulas.3. Develop the economy, while lifting wages, by turning away from dangerous and ineffective Wall Street Casino strategies and embracing resilient local economies supporting locally owned businesses. Visit AlecJohnsonForTexas.com/jobs for more details. It would be self-funding also.