Minnesota 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.
- No Answer

4. Abortions should be legal when pregnancy results from incest, rape, or the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer

5. Abortions should be limited by waiting periods and notification requirements as decided by each state government.
- No Answer

6. Prohibit the dilation and extraction procedure, also known as "partial-birth" abortion.
- No Answer

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

8. Prohibit public funding for abortions and organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
- No Answer

9. Other
- No Answer

Budget and Tax Issues - Part 1

State Budget: Indicate the funding levels you will support for the following general categories.

1. Education (Higher)
- Greatly Increase Funding

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

3. Environment
- Slightly Increase Funding

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 Budget Surpluses: Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding Minnesota's budget surpluses.

1. Provide refunds through a sales tax rebate.
- No Answer

2. Provide refunds through a vehicle tab fee reduction.
- No Answer

3. Provide refunds through an income tax reduction.
- X

4. Provide refunds through a property tax reduction.
- X

5. Increase state funding for education.
- X

6. Increase state funding for transportation.
- X

7. Other
- No Answer

Budget and Tax Issues - Part 2

State Taxes: Indicate the tax levels you will support.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Capital gains
- Slightly Decrease

3. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

4. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

5. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease

7. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease

8. Inheritance taxes
- Maintain Status

9. Property taxes
- Greatly Decrease

10. Sales taxes
- Slightly Decrease

11. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status

12. Other
- No Answer

13. Should Internet sales be taxed?
- No

14. Do you support a flat tax structure for state income taxes?
- No

15. Would you support returning any operating surplus to Minnesota taxpayers?
- Yes

16. Would you support placing any operating surplus into a "rainy day" fund?
- Yes

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.
- No Answer

2. Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
- No Answer

3. End parole for repeat violent offenders.
- X

4. Implement the death penalty in Minnesota.
- 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.
- No Answer

11. Prosecute as adults, youths accused of a felony.
- No Answer

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

13. Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, or disability be prosecuted as hate crimes.
- X

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.
- X

16. Other
- d) for killing a police officer or person in public service.

Education

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

1. Increase state funds for professional development of public school teachers and administrators.
- X

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).
- No Answer

4. Support charter schools where teachers and professionals receive authorization and funding to establish new schools.
- X

5. Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
- X

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

7. Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
- No Answer

8. Support posting the Ten Commandments in public schools.
- No Answer

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

10. Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
- X

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

12. Require the back-to-basis North Star Standard tests for public school graduation.
- No Answer

13. Require the project-oriented Profile of Learning standards for public school graduation.
- No Answer

14. Require school districts to choose either the Profile of Learning or the North Star Standard for graduation.
- No Answer

15. Allow school districts local choice over the implementation of high school graduation standards.
- X

16. Provide additional state funds to reduce public school class sizes.
- X

17. 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.
- No Answer

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

3. Support limits on cash damages in lawsuits against businesses and professionals for product liability or malpractice.
- No Answer

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. Provide state funds to improve high-speed Internet access and other telecommunication services in Minnesota.
- No Answer

6. 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.
- X

2. Support "self-audit" legislation which creates incentives for industries to audit themselves and clean up pollution.
- X

3. Require a cost/benefit analysis to determine the economic impact of proposed environmental regulations before they are implemented.
- X

4. Require states to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses on privately owned land.
- X

5. Support funding for recycling programs in Minnesota.
- X

6. Request added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environmental regulations.
- X

7. Suspend participation in un-funded, federally-mandated, environmental protection legislation.
- No Answer

8. Restructure the electric utility industry to allow consumers to choose their power companies.
- X

9. Allow individuals to shoot wolves, not on the endangered species list, in order to protect livestock, pets, and guard-animals.
- No Answer

10. Support the Hiawatha corridor light rail project.
- No Answer

11. Other
- No Answer

12. 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 limiting the number of terms for Minnesota Governors?
- No

2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for Minnesota State Senators and Representatives?
- No

3. Individual
- Yes

4. PAC
- Yes

5. Corporate
- Yes

6. Political Parties
- Yes

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

8. Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
- Yes

9. Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
- No Answer

10. Do you support voting on-line?
- Yes

11. Do you support on-line voter registration?
- Yes

12. Do you support changing the Minnesota State Legislature from a two-house (bicameral) system to a one-house (unicameral) system?
- No Answer

13. Do you support requiring the state legislature to convene once every two years rather than annually?
- No

14. Do you support prohibiting political parties from endorsing judicial candidates?
- Yes

15. 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.
- No Answer

4. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
- No Answer

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. Other
- X

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 a patient's right to sue his or her HMO.
- X

7. Support a patient's right to appeal to an administrative board of specialists when services are denied.
- X

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

9. Other
- X

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.
- No Answer

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.
- No Answer

6. Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans, and job training and placement.
- X

7. Require explicit permission from consumers before companies can share or sell information about them.
- X

8. Require explicit permission from consumers before the state can share or sell information about them.
- X

9. Other
- No Answer

10. Should physician-assisted suicide be legally available in Minnesota?
- No

11. Should Minnesota include sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination laws?
- Yes

12. Should Minnesota recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- No

13. Should Minnesota restrict marriage to a relationship only between a man and a woman?
- Yes

Welfare and Poverty

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

1. Maintain current time limits on welfare benefits.
- X

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.
- No Answer

12. Other
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

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.
- Action in two areas is key to building stronger families, schools, and communities. Education. Your experience in school is the key to success in life. Preparing our students for the workforce and for life is my top concern.... Taxes. Our state and local tax system is too complex and difficult to understand. We must reduce the burden on taxpayers, while working toward a system that is simpler, more understandable and fair. I'll continue to work...