Michael Kelly's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Michael Kelly has failed to provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2018 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
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.
Texas State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | 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 the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| A woman's right to choose is the law of the land. I will fight for policies that make it easier for women to chose carrying their pregnancies to term, not forcing them. Cutting access to birth control by closing organizations like Planned Parenthood make no sense. We have already seen an increase in 2nd trimester abortions because of this action. Parental consent should be the norm but there are some situations where another guardian may need to be consulted and possibly give consent. Abortion after 1st trimester should meet very tight guidelines. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Texas's budget.2) State Spending:Indicate 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.3) State Taxes:Indicate 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.
| Yes | a) Tapping into Texas's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | c) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Sales taxes | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| "Layoffs" or "Reducing Salaries" is not the answer. But no longer employing poorly performing individuals or eliminating non producing positions is more than reasonable, it should be required. Efficiency in spending and achieving the results expected from spending should be the guiding principle. | |||
| Efficiency in spending has to be increased. Accountability for achieving the goal of our taxation must be judged on the outcome of how the money is spent and the benefit to Texans. State finances should be considered successful based on our "Return on Investment", not in how little did we spend. | |||
| Alcohol and Cigarette consumption cost the people in State of Texas. Having higher taxes to offset the cost associated with this burden is reasonable. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Identification for voting must be simple and not restrictive (causing ridiculous hardship for voter). | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| Capital punishment is revenge, not punishment. Criminals have not only hurt individuals but society as a whole and they should pay back their debt to society by performing work which benefits that people of Texas as part of their restitution. Prosecuting minors as adults should not be a black and white issue. Certain crimes should be viewed with a different possibility of various prosecutions. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| a) certain types of government spending could be good, but not all. c) some regulations offer no upside and the cost is burdensome. f) drug test are ok but the consequences should not penalize the children. We should have a more comprehensive plan that includes training, child care, education and a path for becoming a productive part of society. The most dangerous people to our society are those with nothing to lose. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Texas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| a) guidelines are great but schools should be able to manipulate the guidelines to fit their particular schools. g)We need a comprehensive plan for handling undocumented families. Just saying no to families that have been working and paying taxes is not the answer. More teachers and smaller grouping of students which learn at the same pace is the real need. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Texas's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Do you support allowing concealed carry on public college campuses in Texas? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| Competency and safety standards should not be considered as assault on the second amendment. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Texas's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Texas's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| a) I think the state should recognize civil unions only. "Marriage" should be conducted by and recognized by the religious body the couple have chosen to belong to. b) Some laws be in place that address a student's well being when in a state of "undress". That is, students should not be placed in situations where adults in authority with "power" over students can be sexually aroused at the site of students they are able to view while not clothed. (as is very common in locker rooms...not bathrooms) | |||
| 1) Our schools need more teachers and teacher's aides and smaller classroom groupings. This is not an option. I am in favor or tapping the rainy day fund or excluding tax breaks to achieve this. 2) Our schools must have curriculums which prepare non college bound students for successful lives in our business community. 3) We must foster a way of doing business that takes those on the fringes of economic success (single moms, poorly educated, middle aged unemployed) and gives incentives to businesses that offer these groups a chance to become "winners" in the economic game of life. |
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