James Harper'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.
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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James Harper has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2019 Political Courage Test.
Louisiana State Legislative Election 2019 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I also support abortion if the life of the mother is in danger. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Louisiana's budget.
| Yes | a) Do you support local governments' say over the Industrial Tax Exemption Program (ITEP), which allows approved manufacturing companies to be exempt from paying local property taxes for up to ten years? | ||
| No | b) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | c) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket | ||
| I believe in downsizing government, improving education, improving economic stability and promotion of business and jobs, and opposed to taxation. We need to do more to support our educators, police force, and first responders. | |||
| 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 support automatic voter registration if there are strict requirements on the validation of persons and their domicile. I believe our society would be better with higher participation of citizens in the political process for which it was intended to represent. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that would ban holding cell phones while driving? | ||
| I believe the age of the minor should be secondary to the nature of the violent crime of which they have been found guilty. I support smart technology through vehicle manufacturing and phone industry that would disengage handheld devices based on the speed of movement, no function greater than 5-10mph, further, support technology that would allow vehicles to support hands-free and verbal recognition for cellular usage while driving. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | 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 expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Louisiana? | ||
| No | g) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support using toll revenue to help fund a new bridge over the Mississippi River? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Louisiana? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Louisiana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legalizing sports betting for the purpose of funding early childhood education programs? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | 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 teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| I do not support gun-control legislation or taxation, however, if a license would support funding for increased police presence while educating gun users on protection, laws, and safety. I would consider it as long as the appropriations were budget neutral and supported the safety of the citizens. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Louisiana's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | 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 believe the opioid crisis is best served through education of medical providers and health care recipients. Further, directives to limit the number and duration of opioids by healthcare providers without psychiatric and pain management consultations should be enforced. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Louisiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Louisiana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Louisiana state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| I do not believe or support any form of discrimination, however, I do believe there are only two genders. | |||
| We need to do more to reform our criminal justice system, empower the citizens to register to vote and participate in the political process, make it a priority to advocate for those who cannot do so for themselves, reform our healthcare system, and improve our infrastructure to include maintenance of completed projects. The prosperity of our citizens is dependent on our ability to keep them safe, educate them to the highest ability, provide equal employment opportunities, and keep them healthy and in the workforce. | |||
| Downsizing government, improving education, reducing taxes while returning the power of decisions to the population our government represents. |
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