Jeff Fernandez's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Michigan State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| No | b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.2) State TaxesIndicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Michigan's budget.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Decrease | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Eliminate | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Eliminate | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Michigan's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Instituting a tax on physicians | ||
| Yes | c) Extending the sales tax to more services | ||
| No | d) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | e) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| No | f) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | g) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | h) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| Some of these areas do not need to have increased budgets but instead they need more effieciencies in their departments. | |||
| I am in favor of the MI Fair Tax System. This system would eliminate the business taxes in MI AND all state personal income tax. It would slightly raise and broaden the sales tax making it fair across the board for everyone. | |||
| I would only support extending the sales tax to physicians in the case of the MI Fair Tax System. | |||
c) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Michigan governors? | ||
| No | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Michigan state legislators? | ||
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | d) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| f) Do you support repealing the state's motorcycle helmet law? | |||
| Yes | g) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| F- I need to see more research on the helmet law before I can make a decision. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state regulation of the auto insurance industry? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Increased spending is NOT the way to solve the issues of job creation. | |||
| No | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| No | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Michigan high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | |||
| F- this question is not just about tuition. It gets to the root of immigration reform and that has to happen before we can appropriately tackel the tuition issue. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Michigan's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| I support funding in some of these areas for certain situations. Not a blanket approval. | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a license for gun possession? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| No | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Michigan? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| G- the current law though does not work and already needs reform. | |||
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| No | b) Should Michigan allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | h) Should legal counsel for indigent defendants be managed by the state? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles | |||
| Jobs, Jobs, and Jobs. These are my top 3 priorities. We must eliminate the MI Business Tax that has been killing jobs and businesses in MI since it was put into action in 2007. I propose reforms to programs to make them more effecient and less open to fraud as the means to pay for this removal of our tax structure. |
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