Utah State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test

Abortion

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

1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- X

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. Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
- X

7. Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
- X

8. Other or expanded principles
- Sanctity of life issues define the respect we have not only for the unborn, but for one another. My prefernce is that abortions always be illegal but as indicated by my other answers I acknowledge limited circumstances of necessity and strict guidelines for notice and consideration.

Budget and Tax

State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

1. Education (Higher)
- Slightly Increase

2. Education (K-12)
- Greatly Increase

3. Emergency preparedness
- Maintain Status

4. Environment
- Maintain Status

5. Health care
- Maintain Status

6. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase

7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

8. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

9. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

5. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Maintain Status

6. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Maintain Status

7. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

8. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status

9. Other or expanded categories
- The answers to the above 2 categories is based on lthe evel of taxation and the relative distribution of those dollars. Utah growth dictates increases in funding but economic growth has so far funded those needs. Tax reductions are also appropriate, and spending increases which are the result of the temptation to spend in good years are dangerous.

10. Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- No

11. Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- Yes

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

13. Other or expanded principles
- 1)above. Not if it encourages Utah internet companies to re-locate outside of the state.2)above. Only in the case of unanticipated revenue shortfalls.3)above. Highway needs far outweigh the gasoline tax revenues. Congestion pricing is a fee proposal designed to reduce need and raise funds directly from users. It is worth considering.Fees are taxes, and congestion pricing should not be a tax increase but a shift in a portiion of the tax burden from the general public to specific users.

Campaign Finance and Government Reform

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

1. Do you support the current limit of terms for Utah governors?
- No

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

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

1. Individual
- No

2. PAC
- No

3. Corporate
- No

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. Should Utah participate in the federal REAL ID program?
- Undecided

8. Should the governor be required to obtain legislative approval before entering an interstate agreement costing more than $50,000?
- Yes

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

1. Other or expanded principles
- Utah has excellent disclosure laws and reporting systems. As long as campaigns are a necessity, so is funding. Elections are frequent and transparency required. Voters have clear information available and will, and have, voiced their power to disapprove in the voting booth.

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.
- No Answer

2. Support the death penalty in Utah.
- X

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

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

5. Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
- No Answer

6. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- No Answer

7. Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
- No Answer

8. Support hate crime legislation.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- It is essential to be tough on crime. That however has meant mandatory sentences, enhanced penalties, and therefore greater pressure on state resources. I support drug courts and similar efforts to allow judges more flexibility.

Education

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

1. Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
- X

2. Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
- No Answer

3. Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
- X

4. Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- X

5. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
- X

6. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
- No Answer

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

8. Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
- X

9. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- X

10. Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Utah to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
- X

11. Other or expanded principles
- Note: I would support a well structured voucher program that gave parents choice and flexibility, including private and religious schools It must be weighed against the legislature's constitutional responsibility to assure a quality education for children and a healthy level of funding to public schools. They question (f) above pertaining to vouchers is worded "any"such school and as such would not have my support unless some acceptable measure of accountablity was required.

Employment

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

1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today?s job market.
- No Answer

2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
- 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.
- No Answer

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

6. Include sexual orientation in Utah's anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer

7. Include gender identity in Utah's anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer

8. Increase the state minimum wage.
- No Answer

9. Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
- No Answer

10. Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
- No Answer

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

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

13. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Environment and 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, oil, etc).
- X

3. Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
- No Answer

4. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
- No Answer

5. Support funding for improvements to Utah's power generating and transmission facilities.
- No Answer

6. Support funding for open space preservation.
- No Answer

7. Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
- No Answer

8. Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- We need to be energy independent. That includes conservation and alternative fuel sources, but it demands the full use of our domestic traditional resources especially those available within our our own state.

Gun

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

1. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No

2. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- Yes

3. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- No

4. Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

5. Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- Current Utah gun laws are probably more strict than needed, however they reflect the political reality in our state, and also reflect a reasonable compromise given the different forces at work in Utah politics.

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. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- X

3. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- No Answer

4. Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
- No Answer

5. Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
- No Answer

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

7. Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Social

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

1. Should Utah recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- No

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- No

3. Should Utah provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
- No

4. Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
- Yes

5. Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
- Yes

6. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- No

7. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- No

8. Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
- No

9. Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
- No

10. Should Utah continue affirmative action programs?
- No

11. Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
- No

12. Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
- No

13. Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
- Yes

14. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

1. 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.
- I have sponsored Real Estate and Victims Rights legislation in the past, and will likely carry responsible legislation as needed. I do not favor running bills for the sake of appearance nor do I support measuring a lawmaker's worth by the number of bills carried. (We have plenty) I am also concerned that legislators with "agendas" do not have a broad enough focus.