Maureen Copelof's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Maureen Copelof has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
North Carolina 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? | ||
| Abortion is a decision that should be made between a woman and her doctor and her God. Government should not be in the middle of making this decision. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing North Carolina'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 North Carolina'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 | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| I do not believe in balancing the budget by reducing needed services to NC residents. | |||
| We must properly fund public education and ensure every child has access to high quality schools. | |||
| I believe we should have a progressive income tax and not a flat rate. I do not support shifting the tax burden by increasing sales taxes. This puts the tax burden disproportionately on lower income families. | |||
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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| We need to limit the amount of money that can be spent on state elections. There is way too much "big money" coming in and trying to influence elections. I do not support photo ID for voting. This penalizes low income and minority voters. There is virtually no history of voter impersonation at the polls...a photo ID is an unnecessary requirement. | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| We need to start dealing with the underlying causes of crime and when possible use methods other than incarceration to deal with the offense. | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| Government needs to be proactive to encourage economic growth and to attract industry to the state. The public/private partnerships that have been created are a step in the right direction. We must ensure NC has a competitive corporate tax rate and a business friendly environment. Government needs to ensure there is an adequate safety net with unemployment benefits and job-training programs. The minimum wage needs to be increased. No one can live on $7.25 an hour. Government must work to attract living wage jobs and help ensure our workforce is ready to step up and take advantage of these jobs. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | 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 North Carolina high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I support the concept of common core standards but we must ensure that our teachers and schools are not burdened with excessive testing requirements. We need to give local school administrators more flexibility in how they work to achieve these standards. We need to focus on providing quality education equally to all our children. Attracting and retaining high quality teachers is essential and merit pay and tenure are important incentives to do this. I am against using public money for private school vouchers. These funds should be used to improve the public schools. | |||
| 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 North Carolina'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? | ||
| NC should encourage renewable energy development by reinstating the REITC. NC should ban fracking. NC should develop a plan to comply with the EPA carbon emission requirements instead of wasting money and time fighting this in federal court. Protecting the environment is critical for health and future of our citizens. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| We need to have common sense gun regulation. Mandatory background checks on all purchases; licenses and training requirements; concealed carry only with a special license. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| NC needs to expand Medicaid. This will create jobs, increase revenue, decrease the uninsured patient cost at hospitals and help 400,000 low income residents have health coverage. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in North Carolina's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Based on the religious beliefs of the owners, should businesses be allowed to refuse services to their employees and/or customers? | ||
| No | e) Should individuals be required to use a bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificates? | ||
| I believe in the fundamental concepts on which this country was based...equal rights, justice for ALL. | |||
| My top priorities are to attract well-paying jobs, improve the quality of public education, expand Medicaid, and protect the environment. To attract jobs I would ensure we have reasonable incentives, a competitive tax rate, and a business-friendly environment. I would redirect voucher money for private schools back into public schools and put the cap back on the number of charter schools; strong public education systems attract business. I would expand Medicaid, and reverse the decision about fracking in NC. I would reinstate the Renewable Energy Tax credit and give the DEQ more authority. |
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