Joan Farrell'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.
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Joan Farrell has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Tennessee 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? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| c) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| No | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| But I support same day (as election) voter registration. | |||
| 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? | ||
| 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 Tennessee? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| Private for-profit prisons should be abolished. The cash bail bond system incarcerates those unable to make bail but who have not yet been tried for their crime. Unless a clear flight risk on a felony charge, these persons should be released. Even a short prison stay can result in loss of job, housing, children with devastating effects on the family. | |||
| 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 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 Tennessee? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Government regulations which are clearly "red tape" and serve no useful purpose should be abolished. Regulations concerning health, safety and/or the environment need to be reviewed carefully before being abolished. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Tennessee? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Tennessee? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Tennessee high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring transgender athletes to compete in intramural and interscholastic sports that match their biological sex? | ||
| No | f) Do you support allowing college athletes to be compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| I support state funding (or incentivizing) of electric car charging stations such as to provide good coverage throughout the state. The lack of these charging stations coupled with the relatively low range puts these cars at a disadvantage compared to gas vehicles. | |||
| 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 after passing gun safety training? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| Legislators should promote "Smart" guns as a way to reduce accidental deaths, especially among children. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Tennessee'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? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Tennessee's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Tennessee's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| c) Do you support greater efforts by Tennessee state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | |||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| I?m fiscally responsible, meaning that I want ? and Tennesseans deserve - real value for every dollar spent by the State of Tennessee. Serious problems including sky high housing costs, the closing of rural hospitals, an unfair bail system, climate change, factory farming and the need for vaccine transparency must be addressed - and I am up to the job. | |||
| Voters are worried about the economy, job losses, job security and their bottom line. A living wage is essential to a thriving Tennessee. I will submit legislation greatly increasing the minimum wage in Tennessee. People who have more disposable income will spend it on things they need, helping economic recovery. I oppose the current effort to enshrine the Right to Work law into the Tennessee Constitution. Right to Work laws harm unions because employees can "free load" and obtain the advantages of a union contract without paying for it. |
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