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Ferial Masry's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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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.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Ferial Masry refused to tell citizens where she stands on any of the issues addressed in the 2010 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart, national media, and prominent political leaders.

What is the Political Courage Test?
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.

California State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test

The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding abortion.

a) Abortions should always be illegal.
X b) Abortions should always be legal.
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
Abortions should be RARE and never ILLEGAL. Women should have complete access to medical care which should be between the woman and her doctor.

State Budget: Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.State Taxes: Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category, you can use a number more than once.

Slightly Increase a) Education (Higher)
Greatly Increase b) Education (K-12)
Maintain Status c) Emergency preparedness
Slightly Increase d) Environment
Greatly Increase e) Health care
Maintain Status f) Law enforcement
Slightly Increase g) Transportation and highway infrastructure
Maintain Status h) Welfare
Greatly Increase i) Other or expanded categories
Slightly Increase a) Alcohol taxes
Slightly Increase b) Cigarette taxes
Slightly Increase c) Corporate taxes
Maintain Status d) Gasoline taxes
Eliminate e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
Slightly Increase f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
Maintain Status g) Property taxes
Maintain Status h) Sales taxes
Slightly Increase i) Vehicle taxes
Greatly Increase j) Other or expanded categories
Yes 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
Yes 2) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
Yes 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
No 4) Should California increase the tax exemption on luxury items (yachts, airplanes, and motor-homes) purchased and stored outside of the state from 90 days to 1 year?
Money spent on education NOW will save money on law enforcement and prisons in the future.
I would reinstate the vehicle registration fee and the tax on top of the 1% of Californians and collect the uncollected taxes. This would give California $12 billion toward the $16 billion budget deficit.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

Yes a) Do you support the current limit of terms for California governors?
Yes b) Do you support the current limit of terms for California state senators and assemblymembers?
Yes 1) Individual
Yes 2) PAC
Yes 3) Corporate
Yes 4) Political Parties
Yes d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
Yes e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
Yes f) Should California participate in the federal REAL ID program?
Yes g) Do you support giving the redistricting authority of the state legislature to a California citizen council?
No h) Do you support the California state government using eminent domain to seize private property for the purpose of private development?
California should encourage more well qualified candidate to run for office and one of the ways is to decrease the cost campaigns can spend so that it is not just for the well funded!

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding crime.

a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
b) Support the death penalty in California.
X c) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
X d) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
e) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
f) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
X g) Support hate crime legislation.
Money spent on education NOW will save money on law enforcement and prisons in the future and the same is true of rehabilitation. Also, people accused of minor crimes or drug crimes could be monitored with an electronic bracelet and able to work and pay taxes; go to rehabilitation which is more appropriate and save the state money at the same time.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.

X a) Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
b) Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
c) Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
d) Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
X e) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
X g) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
h) Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
X i) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
j) Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of California to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
It's vital that we have an educated citizenry! Educated workers pay more income taxes and the state benefits in the long run. I support policies that will increase the education level of our workers. Teachers need to be paid better in order to attract the best!

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding employment.

X a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today’s job market.
b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
X c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
X d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
X e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
X f) Increase the state minimum wage.
X g) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
h) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
X i) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
X j) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
Affordable and reliable childcare would go a long way toward helping low income and welfare recipients to increase their skills and work at jobs that pay more than minimum wage and then they would be contributing not costing the state. Also, childcare would allow the children of low income workers to attend school instead of now, they often have to stay home to watch a sick child while the parent goes to work.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.

X a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
X b) Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc).
c) Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
X d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
X e) Support funding for improvements to California's power generating and transmission facilities.
X f) Support funding for open space preservation.
X g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
X h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
We need to have the WILL to improve the quality of our air and decrease the emissions that are causing global warming. I put #4 in C because I do not believe that corn ethanol is the best way to achieve this.

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding guns.

Yes a) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
No b) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
Yes c) Should a license be required for gun possession?
Yes d) Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
Yes e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
We should have stricter restrictions on some kinds of guns, like automatic rifles. In Australia, immediately after the High School killings, the country restricted guns immensely. If they can do it in Australia, we should be able to do it here!

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health.

X a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
b) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
c) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
X d) Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
X e) Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
X f) Legalize physician assisted suicide in California.
X g) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
Shelia Kuehl's bill for Single Payer healthcare makes the most sense to me. All other industrialized countries provide healthcare for their citizenry! It would be cheaper and more efficient in the long run for people to get ongoing healthcare and not wait til they are seriously ill to seek care through an emergency room! It may not even cost much more and it's the right thing to do!

['Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.', 'Legislative Priorities']

Yes a) Should California continue to recognize domestic partnerships between same-sex couples?
Yes b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
Yes c) Should California provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
No d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
Yes e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
Yes f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
No g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
Yes h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
Yes i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
Yes j) Should California continue affirmative action programs?
Yes k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
Yes l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
No m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
n) Other or expanded principles
My legislative priorities are for EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE, and IMPROVING THE INFRASTRUCTURE OF CALIFORNIA. The funding for implementation would be through increased revenue in the long run. We must first balance the budget by closing the tax collection loopholes on the top 1 or 2%. Then, we must collect the uncollected taxes that John Chiang campaigned on. We must also reinstate the vehicle registration fee. That would give us $12 billion of the $16 billion deficit now. With a better educated workforce, we would be able to attract more business and that would bring in more revenue. For starters, we....

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