North Carolina State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test

Abortion & Reproductive

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

2. Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy?
- Yes

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

4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- Yes

5. Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes

6. Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes

7. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures?
- Yes

8. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- Yes

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Tapping into North Carolina's "rainy day" fund
- Yes

2. Decreasing funding for public universities
- No

3. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions
- No

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

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- The key to keeping the budget balanced is to control spending while at the same time having a taxation policy that funds essential state government functions. North Carolina has accomplished this over the last 6 years; reducing funding for non-essential government functions and reducing taxes for all citizens. This has resulted in North Carolina having one of the best economic performances in the country following the great recession.

1. Education (higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Environment
- Maintain Status

4. Health care
- Maintain Status

5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Maintain Status

6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase

7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Maintain Status

4. Small business taxes
- Slightly Decrease

5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Property taxes
- Maintain Status

7. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

8. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Greatly Decrease

9. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

10. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Maintain Status

11. Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases?
- Yes

12. Other or expanded principles
- Over the last 6 years North Carolina has fundamentally restructured its tax policy which has resulted in billions of dollars being returned to the taxpayers of the state. Taxpayers work hard to earn a living and know better how to spend their money than government. Our tax reform efforts have allowed taxpayers to keep more of what they earn, fully funded essential core functions of state government and resulted is a state economic recovery that is among the leaders in our country.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Individual
- Yes

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- No

5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- No

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

7. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- No

8. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- Yes

9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Crime & Public Safety

1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes

2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes

3. Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- No

4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- Yes

5. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes

6. Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction?
- Yes

7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Economic

1. Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No

2. Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes

3. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes

4. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- Yes

5. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- No

6. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- Yes

7. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- Yes

8. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- No

9. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage?
- No

10. Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them?
- Yes

11. Other or expanded principles
- Providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation should be limited and focused.

Education

1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- No

2. Do you support a merit pay system for teachers?
- Yes

3. Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers?
- No

4. Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school?
- Yes

5. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- Yes

6. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- Yes

7. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from North Carolina high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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 funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- Yes

3. Do you support state funding for improvements to North Carolina's energy infrastructure?
- Yes

4. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- Yes

5. Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- No

6. Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry?
- No

7. Other or expanded principles
- All energy production is government supported to some extent; some subsidies are just more visible than others. Low cost energy is key to a competitive economic environment and I support limited, focused and effective support for all energy producing activities.

Gun

1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No

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

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

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

5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Health

1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- No

2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- Yes

3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- Yes

4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No

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

6. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- Yes

7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- No

8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Social

1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- No

2. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

4. Based on the religious beliefs of the owners, should businesses be allowed to refuse services to their employees and/or customers?
- Yes

5. Should individuals be required to use a bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificates?
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

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.
- Job creation and economic development has been, and continues to be, my primary focus in the legislature. When first elected, North Carolina ranked 44th worst in the nation in business taxes, had the third highest unemployment insurance debt in the country, and had a Medicaid system running hundreds of millions of dollars in the red yearly. I worked on lowering individual and corporate tax rates and reducing over intrusive regulations. This moved NC state business tax climate rating from 44th to 15th in the nation, spurred growth in our economy, paid off the UI debt early and ended Medicaid overspending.