Laurel Hess' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Laurel Hess has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Michigan State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | 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? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| We need to tax less and trim more. The pork needs to go and our state needs to prioritize spending. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support limiting the governor's power to declare a state of emergency? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Should an individual under 18 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 the use of private prisons in Michigan? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support banning the use of cellphones and other handheld communication devices while driving? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Michigan? | ||
| 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? | ||
| As a small business owner myself, I know first hand that taxes need to be lowered and regulations need to be reduced in order for small businesses to stay alive. A mandatory minimum wage increase (especially right now) would likely put hundreds of small businesses out of business. The free market should decide wages. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Michigan? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Michigan? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Michigan high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support allowing college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image, and likeness? | ||
| Our education system is grossly underfunded and under appreciated. Not only am I a small business owner, but I went back to school last year to get my teaching certificate and have taught in the public schools for the past two years. It's been eye-opening. We need to do a better job of supporting our public schools and teachers. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support prohibiting the distribution of bottled water from the Great Lakes watershed outside the watershed? | ||
| e) 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 after passing gun safety training? | ||
| 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? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Michigan's 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? | ||
| I am generally against all mandates. I support vaccines, but I refuse to mandate them for others. I would not choose euthanasia. But, that may be the right choice for others. I support freedom to choose and for all people to make the choices that are right for themselves and their families. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Michigan's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Michigan state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY - I am a moderate, common sense Republican who is committed to serve every citizen in my district regardless of political affiliation. I believe in civility and in treating all people with respect. Like you, I am tired of all the bickering. I am determined to put partisanship and politicking aside in order to compromise and accomplish what needs to get done. I truly believe most of us in this state are reasonable people who don't hold extreme views. We need to be the ones setting the agenda, not extremists on either side. | |||
| Safely Opening Up Our State-We have all been failed, in some way or another, by those who were supposed to represent us, work in our best interest, and be our voice. There is a way to open our state back up safely. We need a better plan, based on data, that is consistent and less restrictive. Supporting Small Business & Protecting Your Tax Dollars-We need to look at what failed and why. Most politicians in Lansing need to be educated about what's it's really like for us "small-potato" folks out here. Power needs to be given back to the people. |
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