Scott Martens' 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.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
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Scott Martens has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2018 Political Courage Test.
New York State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing New York 's budget.
| No | a) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| No | c) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | ||
| Yes | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| we need an equitable and sustainable tax structure where the financial burden of paying for necessary social programs like public education does not fall so heavily on the backs of the working class. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| No | c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support replacing the cash bail system with a supervised release system for misdemeanor charges? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of New York ? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in New York ? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from New York high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| No | d) Should students' standardized test scores be used to evaluate teacher performance? | ||
| The charter school industry must be held to strict standards of accountability and transparency if they are to accept state taxpayer funding. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| d) 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? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through New York 's health care programs? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| I support the NY Health Act. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in New York 's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in New York 's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by New York state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Should New York permit localities to adopt "Sanctuary City" immigration policies? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Update to the requirements for public notification of project proposals. The current system is antiquated, insufficient and enables controversial projects to slip by impacted residents. I will develop a system that brings the necessary information to the People, allowing them to decide if the proposal is right for their community. Our progressive energy policy requires a dedicated movement towards renewables. The fracked gas infrastructure build-out stands in stark contradiction to this commitment and in fact moves NYS in the opposite direction, one that will exacerbate our climate crisis, injure our critical natural resources and compromise our public health and safety. |
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