Jim Powers' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Jim Powers submitted the 2016 Political Courage Test after the official deadline.
South Dakota 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? | ||
| e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | |||
| Yes | 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 struggle with answering all questions simply yes or no. Not all issues are so black and white in comparison. Parental notification in incestuous situations, for example. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing South Dakota'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 South Dakota'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 | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| h) Other or expanded categories: | |||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Sales taxes | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Look at tax exemptions for possible funds. | |||
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? | ||
| I would like to see the Citizen United decision overturned and take the big money back out of politics. I think the bipartisan commission is definitely needed to end the extreme gerrymandering occurring in South Dakota. Voter suppression is a much bigger problem than voter fraud. | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support additional regulations on the short-term loan industry such as capping interest rates? | ||
| I support lowering taxes, but not giving tax breaks to the super wealthy at the expense of the middle and lower class. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | 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 South Dakota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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 South Dakota'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? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| I do not support taking guns away, but I would support limits on magazine capacity. As a hunter and sportsman, I see no practical reason to have 30, 60, or 100 shot clips. Anyone who shoots a rifle knows what happens after firing several shots through a barrel. The barrel heats up, shots become erratic, and the barrel fouls with products of combustion and lead. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Medicaid expansion makes sense for South Dakota. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in South Dakota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in South Dakota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to use a bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificate? | ||
| No | e) Based on the religious beliefs of the owners, should businesses be allowed to refuse services to their employees and/or customers? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| My top priority would be to ensure that the State of South Dakota expands Medicaid. The Governor has a plan to expand in which it will be at least budget neutral and at best will add to monies to our budget. 50,000 more individuals would gain coverage, preventative care would increase, hospitals would see a decrease in charitable care, and long term health would improve. Continue to work on teacher pay and the school formula. Even after increasing teacher salaries this year, we are last in the region and will continue to struggle to retain good educators. |
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