South 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?
- No

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
- In reference to abortion being allowed if the life of the woman in endangered, I agree only after all reasonable medical efforts have been made to save the life of the mother and the child.

Budget, Spending, & Tax

1. Tapping into South Carolina's "rainy day" fund
- No

2. Decreasing funding for public universities
- Yes

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

4. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees
- Yes

5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- Yes

6. Other or expanded principles
- A cost/benefit analysis should be performed for every agency and program to determine effectiveness, efficiency and necessity. Generally, "the rainy day fund" is intended to cover any budget shortfall that occurs during a particular budget year and should be replenished if it is utilized.

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
- Maintain Status

7. Welfare
- Maintain Status

8. Other or expanded categories
- It is impossible for me to respond otherwise until I have in-depth information once in office.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Small business taxes
- Slightly Decrease

5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease

7. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

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

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

10. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Slightly Decrease

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

12. Other or expanded principles
- Generally, my taxing philosophy is to collect and spend based on users, where appropriate, rather than a general tax. Obviously, this is not across the board; there are nuances. As to online purchases, they should be subject to the same tax laws as a storefront as outlined in current state laws.

Campaign Finance & Government Reform

1. Individual
- Yes

2. Political Action Committee
- Yes

3. Corporate
- Yes

4. Political Party
- Yes

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?
- Yes

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?
- Yes

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
- I support government expenditures for efforts such as the Dept. of Commerce or infrastructure (state port) which create jobs that directly impact economic growth. I, also, support proportionate financial incentives to any size businesses based on created tax revenue.

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 South 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)?
- No

2. Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- No

3. Do you support state funding for improvements to South Carolina's energy infrastructure?
- No

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
- No Answer

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?
- No

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 South Carolina's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in South 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. 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.
- Improving the SC highway infrastructure and safety has to be a top priority. Based on the existing user fees and General Assembly issued bonds from the 2015 session, there is significant funding to make major improvements if properly managed and implemented. Political control of DOT has to be stopped. Providing the ability for businesses to recover some of their capital expenditures based on the new tax revenue they generate with their investment. My plan enables a business to recapture up to 20% of their investment by allowing them to keep 20% of the new tax revenues generated by that investment.