Scott Coleman's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Scott Coleman submitted the 2016 Political Courage Test after the official deadline.
Texas State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Women should be in control of their health care decisions. As a caveat to e and f above, I would make an exception if a judge finds the minor's health and safety would likely be in danger by the requirement to obtain consent. | |||
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 | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Property taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | e) Sales taxes | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| Each dollar invested in education pays dividends in the economy, and I support expanding education funding now to improve our future economy. The Texas Republicans have completely failed to understand this basic fiscal concept about what makes our economy strong. | |||
| Only a few decades ago, the state of Texas was able to almost fully fund in-state tuition for students. I believe each of these areas actually save taxpayer money if they are properly funded, because they represent an investment in better health and quality of living for Texans. The economy suffers when middle class Texans have no safety net during hard times but when they do have a safety net, they can continue to contribute to the economy and they are more likely to rise out of poverty. It is also the morally correct policy to take. | |||
| I generally think that the middle class is taxed too high in Texas and should receive tax decreases as soon as possible. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| The state districts in Texas are clearly designed to disenfranchise minority voters, and several court decisions have agreed. I favor a process where citizens can vote as easily as possible, and the burden is on the government, not citizens, to find voter fraud post hoc, not before citizens exercise their right to vote. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Our immigration laws need to be reformed immediately, and I supported Obama's plan for DACA and DAPA. As a caveat to d, I do not support a minor always be prosecuted as an adult. It should depend on mitigating circumstances. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Some of these questions require analysis on an individual basis, like c. Many regulations are important for our economy, and others should be reformed. For h, there was a specific need to bail out middle class Texans during the 2008 financial crisis. I support this help during times of severe economic distress. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| I support the charter school system in Texas, where charter schools are accountable to the TEA and are non-profit. Vouchers send money to schools that are not accountable to tax payers, so I oppose them. I also believe it strengthens our economy when we invest in all of our students. It makes very little economic sense to educate students without papers and stop doing so when they reach college age. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Texas should work to strike a balance between our energy needs, the need to find new energy sources, and protecting our environment. We should invest in energy to make sure it is cheap for middle class Texans. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Today's republican party has no interest in gun safety, but the democratic party believes that gun rights and gun safety can go together. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Almost everything the Republicans said about the Affordable Care Act turned out to be untrue. Almost everything the Democrats said about the Affordable Care Act did turn out to be true. 14 million more people are insured and the rise in health care costs has slowed. But we still have more work to do. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution states that if a law protects one person, it protects every person, and if the government would like to take away the rights of a citizen, they must go through due process. These principles clearly lead to the conclusion that same-sex marriage should be legal and LGBTQ citizens should be protected from discrimination. | |||
| Education: a dollar spent in education reverberates through the economy. The Texas GOP has failed in its basic duties to ignore this fact and risk a weaker future economy. Infrastructure: with interest rates extremely low, now is the time to improve our economy by increasing infrastructure. This will improve the economy by increasing jobs and decreasing externalities caused by old infrastructure. Revenue and budget reform: The TX GOP hands out billions of dollars to their donors in special tax cuts that middle class Texans don't get, and they pick winners and losers in the economy. This needs to change. |
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