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Catherine Jarrett'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.
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
What is the Political Courage Test?

Colorado 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.
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.
X e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
X f) Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
X g) Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
Re:g) All clinics should get parental permission before doing any medical procedure on a minor.

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.

Maintain Status a) Education (Higher)
Maintain Status b) Education (K-12)
Maintain Status c) Emergency preparedness
Slightly Decrease d) Environment
Slightly Decrease e) Health care
Slightly Increase f) Law enforcement
Slightly Increase g) Transportation and highway infrastructure
Slightly Decrease h) Welfare
a) Alcohol taxes
b) Cigarette taxes
c) Corporate taxes
d) Gasoline taxes
Slightly Decrease e) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
Slightly Decrease f) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
g) Sales taxes
h) Vehicle taxes
No 1) Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
No 2) Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
No 3) Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
a) Universities should be able to account for all money spent. (For example, not knowing how much is being spent on "diversity education" in multiple departments is unacceptable.) d) Using tax money to favor certain industries or businesses at the expense of others distorts the real value of goods and services. e) If my suggestions under Health Issues for High Deductible Health Plans and Health Savings Accounts were implemented, fewer people would need help from government to provide their health care.
e & f) Reduce state income tax to 4.5% as stated in Referendum C.
3) Fees should cover only the expenses of the service delivered.

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 Colorado governors?
Yes b) Do you support the current limit of terms for Colorado state senators and representatives?
No 1) Individual
No 2) PAC
No 3) Corporate
No 4) Political Parties
Yes d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
No e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
No f) Should Colorado participate in the federal REAL ID program?
REAL ID could greatly increase identity theft.

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

a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
X b) Support the death penalty in Colorado.
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.
X e) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
X f) Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
g) Support hate crime legislation.
b) The death penalty would be only for violent crimes like murder with strict standards to protect those who are falsely accused.

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

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.
X 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.
X f) Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
g) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
X h) Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
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 Colorado to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
d) Annual final exams in each grade would encourage students to master each grade's skills. If they are unable to pass, they should have additional time to master the prerequisite skills before being advanced to the next grade. Grouping by skill level in each subject, not age, is preferable. e) I would prefer tax credits to vouchers. h) Merit pay should be based on student progress from the previous year, not subjective criteria. Other: Real science-based sex education would show the superiority of abstinence until marriage (e.g., not acquiring sexually transmitted diseases, no concerns about pregnancy, less emotional trauma, etc.)

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

a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today's job market.
X b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
f) Increase the state minimum wage.
g) Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
X h) Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
X i) Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
j) Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
X k) Prohibit union membership and dues being a condition of employment (right-to-work laws).
e) Provide tax incentives for one parent to stay home and care for his or her own children. Instead of using tax money to provide out-of-home child care, use that money to educate parents on how to live on a budget, avoid debt, reduce food expenses by cooking well at home, provide enrichment activities for their children at home, etc. Single parents may need additional help from their community.

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

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.
d) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
e) Support funding for improvements to Colorado's power generating and transmission facilities.
f) Support funding for open space preservation.
g) Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
h) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
b) Allow the free market to develop new technologies. As far as I know, the technology to use electricity, the windmill, the automobile and many other inventions were not the result of government intervention or funding. Encourage (do not require) passive solar building techniques. g) The earth has experienced warming and cooling cycles for thousands of years. These tend to follow sun cycles, not carbon dioxide levels. Regulating carbon dioxide levels will not prevent climate change.

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

No a) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
Yes b) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
No 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?
No e) Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
d) If we are a nation under law, current laws should be enforced. However, state restrictions should be reduced or eliminated for law-abiding citizens. Existing restrictions and regulations could lead to confiscation in the future.

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

a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
X 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.
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.
f) Legalize physician assisted suicide in Colorado.
g) Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
Instead of buying company health insurance policies employers can raise wages which the employees can use to buy insurance. We can provide tax incentives to individuals who purchase their own insurance. High Deductible Health Plans, which are more affordable than other plans and provide coverage for catastrophic events can be encouraged. A Health Savings Account can then be used to pay smaller medical bills. Unused money accumulates in the account and is owned by the individual. The insurance would not be tied to employment, but be portable, as are home and auto insurance policies.

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

No a) Should Colorado recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
No b) Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
No c) Should Colorado provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
Yes d) Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
Yes e) Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
No f) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
Yes g) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
No h) Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
No i) Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
No j) Should Colorado continue affirmative action programs?
No k) Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
No l) Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
Yes m) Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding.
k) Research using stem cells from adults and cord blood should be encouraged. These stem cells have already provided treatments for over 70 diseases and conditions. l) Embryonic stem cell research has provided no treatments, but it has caused tumors. It also kills very young human beings.

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