Gregory Paulson's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
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Gregory Paulson has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Pennsylvania 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| I consider my self unequivocally pro-choice. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Pennsylvania'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 Pennsylvania'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) | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | f) Property taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| l) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Pennsylvania's Rainy Day Fund is under-funded. Funding must be increased or a more workable formula must be developed and followed. Much of today's "pension crisis" is due to the state legislators allowing contributions to PSERS and to the Budget Stabilization Reserve ("Rainy Day") Fund to be reduced or just not made. | |||
| Additionally, I support increased funding for workforce development, especially for unemployed persons needing training and for convicted persons who are re-entering society after being imprisoned. | |||
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? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in Pennsylvania? | ||
| Question D: Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? Answer: As a victim of a crime in which the juvenile was near the age of majority, acted intentionally, acted together with an adult, and caused severe physical and economic injury, I support the concept of petitioning the court for a ruling on whether the juvenile should be tried as an adult in individual cases rather than having a blanket rule. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | |||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | |||
| b) I support suspending taxes for a specific time; h) Yes, provided there is a specific means test - similar to the current Bankruptcy Code - that evaluates causation of a mortgage delinquency leading to foreclosure; j) Only if there is a need for a clean record for a particular job; e.g., someone hiring a cashier would want to know if the prospective employee was ever arrested for theft/robbery. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| 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 Pennsylvania high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| c) I do not know how that can be measured. | |||
| 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 Pennsylvania'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: | |||
| a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | |||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| No | e) Should private organizations be able to sue municipal governments over the local regulation of firearms? | ||
| a) I support legislation that results in greater safety of/by gun owners and manufacturers. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Pennsylvania's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| I support the PA Human Relations Act being equally applicable to all citizens including those who may belong to the LGBTQ communities or who may be perceived as being LGBTQ. | |||
| 1. Public education is essential. It must be preserved. It must be recognized as an essential element of our Commonwealth, and we need to support it. I intend to support it as our highest priority. 2. I also support alternate sources of revenue for our Commonwealth?s economy, including: -a tax on Marcellus Shale gas and the deeper sources of natural gas still to be developed, -a tax on the corporations that remove our natural resources for their own profit, and not our benefit, -increased fines to environmental polluters, -closing the Delaware loophole so our Commonwealth's business growth stays here. |
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