Steven Hart's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Steven Hart refused to tell citizens where he stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Rhode Island State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test
The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.
| a) Abortions should always be illegal. | |||
| b) Abortions should always be legal. | |||
| X | c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy. | ||
| X | d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape. | ||
| X | e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered. | ||
| f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period. | |||
| g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors. | |||
| Steven believes abortion is wrong. As a parent, Steven cannot imagine passing up the blessing and joy that children bring to our lives. As an Attorney, Steven has witnessed first-hand the deep moral dilemma women face when struggling with a crisis pregnancy and understands why adoption is not always an option. As Representative, Steven Hart will seek ways to promote adoption as a first option for women struggling with a crisis pregnancy. Steven will support funding for family planning and comprehensive sex education that teaches both abstinence and safe sex methods to help reduce unintended pregnancies. | |||
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.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.
| Maintain Status | a) Education (Higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Emergency preparedness | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Welfare | ||
| Eliminate | i) Other or expanded categories | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | h) Sales taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Vehicle taxes | ||
| No | 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales? | ||
| Undecided | 2) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| No | 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget? | ||
| 4) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Steven Hart opposes taxpayer subsidies for undocumented immigrants. He will fight to remove the incentives to enter our state illegally such as free health care and public education. Steven will require state institutions to ask about a student's immigration status and will fight to enact laws banning undocumented students from receiving in-state college tuition rates and from receiving state scholarships and certain student loans. Steven Hart supports E-Verify, a federal pilot project to allow businesses to confirm the legality of their laborers, and sanctions against employers that hire illegal workers. | |||
| Our state government has utterly failed in its responsibility to confront higher living costs, the housing crisis and credit crunch hurting college students. Economic prosperity has been stymied by crippling taxes and the growth of spending on social programs threatens our fiscal future. Steven has the right leadership and courage to make the right spending choices. He will act to eliminate broken government programs that do not perform. He will promote accountability and good performance from our state workforce. Steven will fight for budgetary reforms to stop wasteful spending and damaging tax hikes. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?
| Yes | a) Do you support the current limit of terms for Rhode Island governors? | ||
| Undecided | b) Do you support limiting the number of terms for Rhode Island state senators and representatives? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) PAC | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Parties | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Undecided | e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns? | ||
| Yes | f) Should Rhode Island participate in the federal REAL ID program? | ||
| Undecided | g) Should a plan to reduce the state budget deficit include laying off state workers? | ||
| Yes | h) Should a plan to reduce the state budget deficit include health benefit reductions to retired state employees? | ||
| Steven Hart believes that people serving in positions of public trust must fulfill their duty with integrity and accountability. Rhode Island deserves and demands a government that serves the people, not itself. The people have been alienated from the process of self-government by the overwhelming appearance of their elected leaders having sold-out to the big-moneyed special interests. Steven Hart will fight for greater transparency regarding the official activities of lobbyists. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.
| a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff. | |||
| b) Establish the death penalty in Rhode Island. | |||
| c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released. | |||
| X | d) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders. | ||
| e) Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana. | |||
| f) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults. | |||
| X | g) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws. | ||
| X | h) Support hate crime legislation. | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
| a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs. | |||
| X | b) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind). | ||
| X | c) Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students. | ||
| d) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams. | |||
| e) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school. | |||
| X | f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school. | ||
| g) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries. | |||
| h) Support using a merit pay system for teachers. | |||
| X | i) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable. | ||
| j) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Rhode Island to pay in-state tuition at public universities. | |||
| Steven Hart is committed to high standards and accountability, but he is also committed to providing the resources needed to succeed. He believes we should provide teachers with high quality professional development opportunities with a primary focus on instructional strategies that address the academic needs of their students and reward achievement. Our teachers must perform in today's technology driven environment. There should be an emphasis on standards and accountability. Our goal cannot be group averages. Instead, our focus should be to inspire every child to strive to reach his or her potential. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.
| X | a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market. | ||
| b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector. | |||
| X | c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses. | ||
| X | d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families. | ||
| e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families. | |||
| f) Increase the state minimum wage. | |||
| g) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will. | |||
| X | h) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants. | ||
| X | i) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients. | ||
| X | j) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients. | ||
| Steven Hart will support job creation by investing in education, training and workforce development to create new high wage jobs. He will act to reform our unemployment system by strengthening community colleges and technical training to give displaced workers more choices to find their way back to productive and prosperous lives. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
| X | a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology. | ||
| X | b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc). | ||
| X | c) Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops. | ||
| d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned. | |||
| X | e) Support funding for improvements to Rhode Island's power generating and transmission facilities. | ||
| X | f) Support funding for open space preservation. | ||
| X | g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming. | ||
| h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law. | |||
| Steven Hart is committed to clean, safe and affordable water. He will act to fully fund and enforce programs to protect and clean up our waterways and drinking water sources. Steven believes that Rhode Island should also harvest the benefits of clean energy and move beyond its dependence on polluting power plants. Steven will support renewable energy development to begin the transition to clean, safe, renewable energy sources like solar and wind power. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.
| No | a) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | b) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | c) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | |||
| No | e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| RI now uses the National Instant Check System (NICS) to conduct background checks on all firearms purchasers. RI is one of four of the forty-three States utilizing NICS that still has an additional waiting period. Steven supports repealing the State's seven day waiting period on handgun purchases. Steven believes that the right of law abiding citizens to keep and bear arms is a fundamental, individual constitutional right that we have a duty to protect. We have a responsibility to ensure that criminals who violate the law are prosecuted to the fullest, rather than restricting the rights of law abiding citizens. | |||
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.
| X | a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary. | ||
| b) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government. | |||
| c) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. | |||
| d) Allow patients to sue their HMOs. | |||
| X | e) Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality. | ||
| f) Legalize physician assisted suicide in Rhode Island. | |||
| g) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes. | |||
| h) Other or expanded principles | |||
['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']
| Yes | a) Should Rhode Island continue to recognize civil unions between same-sex couples? | ||
| Undecided | b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry? | ||
| Yes | c) Should Rhode Island provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| No | h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions? | ||
| No | i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions? | ||
| No | j) Should Rhode Island continue affirmative action programs? | ||
| No | k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research? | ||
| No | l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| No | m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it? | ||
| o) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Two years | |||
| Steven Hart believes we must ensure that all Veterans receive the benefits they have earned and the assistance they need from the start. He will fight to honor the service and sacrifice of our past and present veterans by fighting to expand access to health care. Steven believes we must provide support to ease the transition from military to civilian life by providing new education assistance and job counseling. Steven Hart will work to create and fund programs necessary to protect veterans and the families of our fallen heroes from financial loss. | |||
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