Jason Probst's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for State House (KS) - District 102
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This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Kansas State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| We need to develop policies that prevent unwanted pregnancies - such as increased access to affordable contraception, better education and economic opportunities. This issue is deeply personal and divisive, yet I think many of us share the same overarching goal - to reduce to as low as possible the number of abortions. We must spend more effort working toward that shared goal. | |||
| No | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| Yes | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support lowering the state sales tax on groceries? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the creation of a tax on internet streaming services? | ||
| No | e) Do you support prohibiting the reallocation of funds designated for highway projects? | ||
| We need to be creative in our approach to economic development. We generally are very generous with our tax incentives and giveaways for big corporations, yet do relatively little to support small business and start up companies. This is a critical effort we can take - because historically this is where most of the job growth occurs. I do not support tax increases for most income levels, but I would support income tax increases for the top earners and companies in the state. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| I don't mind that we put in place practices to ensure the accuracy and integrity of voters and voting. But we have too many complicated rules around voting that are sometimes challenging for people to figure out. We need to make voting as accessible and easy as possible - and that includes finding new ways and using technology to increase voter participation. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in Kansas? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| We need drug offense and criminal justice reform. It costs taxpayers a great deal to arrest, convict, and incarcerate non-violent offenders. We need to look at our drug laws to see if there's a better balance between a criminal justice and public health response. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Kansas? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the legalization of mobile sports betting and wagering? | ||
| I don't think we should require companies to provide paid leave. That would be incredibly costly for small businesses - but I do think at the federal level we should look at some type of leave system that could benefit working families and be scaled to meet demands during an economic or public health crisis. On income tax, I would support lowering income taxes on lower income brackets - because working families tend to reinvest tax savings back into the economy. Kansas has once eliminated income tax on wealthy corporations and individuals, and it had little overall economic impact. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Kansas? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Kansas? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Kansas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Any increase for teacher salary and benefits naturally must fit within the overall budget realities of the state. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| Oil and gas production is a big industry in Kansas, so any measures on this front must be measured and carefully thought out. But we, as a country, are falling behind because we've resisted the need to blend renewable energy into our overall energy policies. We would be better served by examining the truthful reality of our world, and its limited resources, and embrace technology and energy solutions that put us in a strong position - both economically and as it relates to climate. | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| I am a gun owner, and grew up hunting with my family. But I think there is room for some common sense regulation that provide reasonable protections for the public, while preserving the individual right to bear arms. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Kansas' health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| On euthanasia, again it would depend on the legislation. I generally support the idea of allowing people to decide their own fate, but we would definitely want some guardrails to ensure that such decisions were sound and not the product of pressure or mental illness. On the paid leave issue - again, requiring business to address paid leave will severely impact small business. Our lack of paid leave is a system problem that leaves us vulnerable during times of crisis. And as we saw with Covid-19, our failure to preemptively address this led to hastily, and sloppily, drafted federal legislation. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Kansas' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Kansas' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Kansas state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding anti-discrimination laws to include hair textures and protective hairstyles? | ||
| The Constitution extends its protection to everyone - not just the people who look, act, or think like the majority. | |||
| In the following area, please explain in a total of 100 words or less, any additional priorities of your campaign that have not been covered in these questions. | |||
| My top priority is Medicaid Expansion. Kansas developed a fantastic compromise bill in the 2020 session that would've funded the state's portion of expansion through a provider fee - making it revenue neutral to the state. This policy would shore up our state's healthcare infrastructure, extend access to healthcare to many working Kansans, support small businesses that can't afford healthcare for their employees, and free people to take a chance on starting a new start up company. We have greatly damaged our state by our obstinate approach on this issue. | |||
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