Joshua Lopez'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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Joshua Lopez has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2020 Political Courage Test.
Florida 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: | |||
| Yes | 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) Should tax be charged on online sales from retailers based outside Florida? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support charging bottled water companies an excise tax on water extraction? | ||
| I would prioritize revenue-increasing measures over cost-cutting measures. State coffers are chronically underfunded. Fiscal flexibility is also needed to store cash during good times and stimulate the economy during bad times. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | 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 Florida? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| 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 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 Florida? | ||
| 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? | ||
| I am extremely cautious about lowering taxes because it is so hard to adjust taxes back up. If tax rates were more easily adjusted, I would be more willing to lower tax rates to stimulate the economy. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Florida? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Florida? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Florida high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Standards for charter schools need to be raised. I also would redirect funding to public schools, but I would not eliminate charter school funding entirely. | |||
| 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? | ||
| My top priorities are stopping greenhouse gas emissions and clean water. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| I support gun ownership, but I also support common-sense gun reform to lower violence, such as universal background checks and red flag laws. I do not support mass gun confiscation. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Florida'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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| The state should provide funding to businesses for paid medical leave during the pandemic. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Florida's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Florida's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Florida 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? | ||
| Hair discrimination is often a proxy for race discrimination. | |||
| I will pursue zoning reform, cutting regulations to encourage more private sector construction. I support reforming the property tax system to a land tax system. This will encourage investment and discourage idle use of property. These policies will make housing more affordable and lower carbon emissions. I also support occupational licensing reform and making it easier to work from home. This will increase flexibility of the work force. My clean water plan is extensive and involves making water report cards for every community and increasing citizen education of clean water practices. | |||
| My top legislative priority is to stop carbon emissions by holding polluters financially accountable through carbon fines set at $50 per ton of CO2. Carbon emissions will have their true environmental cost priced in, and the price will cause all economic actors to change their behavior accordingly. This will greatly assist in decarbonizing the economy. The funds raised will be distributed to every Floridian in order to offset any economic impact. |
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