Tim Hicks' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Tim Hicks has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Colorado 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? | ||
| Although I personally do not believe in the use of abortion as a regular means of contraception (there are better ways out there), I do not believe that morality ought to be legislated. A woman has the right to do with her body as she sees fit. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Colorado'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 Colorado'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 | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Greatly 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 | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Greatly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| I will look for ways to leverage existing tax dollars before requesting any tax increases; however, I do not favor balancing the budget on the backs of the people who need the most public assistance. I want to see the biggest corporate users of the welfare system start paying their fair share. | |||
| As a nation, we are falling behind other nations in our ability to foster and leverage intelligence in an ever-changing world. The way I think we can improve law enforcement and reduce unnecessary violence is to increase mitigation training for officers. As far as transportation and infrastructure is concerned, we have to maintain what we want to keep. We cannot become a great state until we care for the people who are least able to help themselves. Finally, we need to re-focus our efforts on clean, renewable energy and end fracking. | |||
| Regarding sales tax for online purchases, we need to standardize how much to charge, how it's charged and reported, and who receives what portion of the tax revenue. | |||
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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Corporations are not "people" and are not entitled to the same rights. Redistricting needs to happen, but all parties must either agree that a commission is truly independent, or all political parties must have representation. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| I believe that capital punishment could be administered where the crime is heinous and vicious, and where there is proof beyond any doubt (not just reasonable doubt) that the perpetrator of the crime is correctly identified. Beyond that, it costs much more to issue a death sentence than to issue a sentence for life imprisonment without possibility of parole. There may be exceptions where minors could be prosecuted as an adult. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Re-training displaced workers is a positive step toward maintaining low unemployment. Lowering tax funding reduces the state's ability to complete badly-needed infrastructure maintenance and other initiatives. Drug testing welfare recipients has already been proven to be not cost-effective. Assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure should be subject to case-by-case review. We can strengthen our economy by raising the minimum wage to a livable wage. I do not favor changing current procedures regarding criminal history of applicants prior to interviews. An offer can always be made contingent upon background checks. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| 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 Colorado high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Just because a teacher has attained tenure does not make them lazy or ineffective. Public funds should never be used at private institutions. Charter schools are a stop-gap measure, why aren't we instead building new neighborhood schools? We must encourage and prepare our students to continue the efforts to move our society forward when others retire from that work. We cannot have them so saddled with college debt that they have to make different life choices that take them away from the work they are best qualified to do. | |||
| 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 Colorado'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? | ||
| I believe that we must end fracking and focus our efforts on clean, renewable energy resources. | |||
| 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 also believe that a new line of Property & Casualty insurance should be established for guns. We currently require driver's licenses, driver education, seat belt usage, and insurance in order to own and operate a vehicle. Why not do the same for guns? I believe that private property owners should have the ability to restrict either concealed or open carry on their own property. | |||
| 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")? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| I believe that a single-payer Medicare system is the best way to ensure that every person has access to affordable health care. The ACA did much to make health care accessible; however, insurers just passed the increased cost to their insureds through higher premiums, higher deductibles and co-payments, and reduced medications in their formularies. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Colorado's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Colorado's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Colorado? | ||
| I believe in the expansion of anti-discrimination definition as it continues to evolve. All tax-paying, law-abiding citizens deserve to be protected against discrimination in all forms. | |||
| I believe that my priorities are non-partisan. We must make sure that we are adequately funding education. We must make sure that we are taking care of our roads, bridges, and public works. We must make sure that we are looking out for the best and most equitable interests of all of our neighbors without regard for their race, age, beliefs, political alignment, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, or anything else that might be used as a means of bias or discrimination. If we need to use TABOR revenue, or other sources of funds before raising taxes, I am for it. |
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