Bruce A. Bickford (b. October 11, 1955) is a Republican member of the Maine House of Representatives, representing District 63. He was first elected to the chamber in 2014.
Bickford is a former Republican member of the Maine House of Representatives, representing District 70 from 2008 to 2012. Prior to his election to the House, he was a Councilor on the Auburn City Council from 2006-2008. Bickford ran in the 2012 election for Maine House of Representatives District 70.
Bickford was a Manager for Convenience Retail from 2000-2008, and Manager of Full Service Restaurants from 1975-2000.
He has been a member of the Small Property Owners of Auburn, Director of Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments, and Director of the Auburn-Lewiston Airport.
Former Member, Select Committee on Marijuana Legalization Implementation, Maine State House of Representatives
Member, Taxation
— Number of Grandchildren:
1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer
2. Abortions should always be legal.
- No Answer
3. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer
4. Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- X
5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X
6. Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
- No Answer
7. Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
- X
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Education (Higher)
- Slightly Decrease
2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase
3. Emergency preparedness
- Slightly Decrease
4. Environment
- Slightly Decrease
5. Health care
- Maintain Status
6. Law enforcement
- Maintain Status
7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Maintain Status
8. Welfare
- Greatly Decrease
9. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Alcohol taxes
- Slightly Decrease
2. Cigarette taxes
- Slightly Decrease
3. Corporate taxes
- Greatly Decrease
4. Gasoline taxes
- Greatly Decrease
5. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Greatly Decrease
6. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Greatly Decrease
7. Property taxes
- Greatly Decrease
8. Sales taxes
- Slightly Increase
9. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status
10. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
11. Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- No
12. Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- Yes
13. Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
- No
14. Should state funding to local school districts be reduced to help balance the state budget?
- No
15. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support the current limit of terms for Maine governors?
- Yes
2. Do you support the current limit of terms for Maine state senators and representatives?
- Yes
1. Individual
- Yes
2. PAC
- Yes
3. Corporate
- Yes
4. Political Parties
- Yes
5. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
6. Do you support imposing spending limits on state-level political campaigns?
- Yes
7. Should Maine participate in the federal REAL ID program?
- No
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and hiring of additional prison staff.
- X
2. Establish the death penalty in Maine.
- No Answer
3. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- No Answer
4. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X
5. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- X
6. Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
- X
7. Support hate crime legislation.
- No Answer
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Support state funding of universal pre-K programs.
- No Answer
2. Support federal education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students (No Child Left Behind).
- No Answer
3. Support state education standards and testing requirements for K-12 students.
- No Answer
4. Support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams.
- X
5. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any public school.
- No Answer
6. Allow parents to use vouchers to send their children to any private or religious school.
- No Answer
7. Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
- No Answer
8. Support using a merit pay system for teachers.
- X
9. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- X
10. Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Maine to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
- No Answer
11. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers and teach skills needed in today?s job market.
- No Answer
2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector.
- X
3. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- X
4. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- X
5. Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- No Answer
6. Increase the state minimum wage.
- No Answer
7. Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
- No Answer
8. Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
- X
9. Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
- X
10. Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X
11. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
- No Answer
2. Support increased production of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil, etc).
- X
3. Support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops.
- No Answer
4. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
- No Answer
5. Support funding for improvements to Maine's power generating and transmission facilities.
- No Answer
6. Support funding for open space preservation.
- No Answer
7. Limit carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases linked to global warming.
- No Answer
8. Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
- No Answer
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No
2. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- Yes
3. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- Yes
4. Do you support current levels of enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes
5. Do you support current state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns?
- Yes
6. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state-funded care where necessary.
- No Answer
2. Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- X
3. Support Dirigo Health in Maine.
- No Answer
4. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- X
5. Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
- No Answer
6. Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
- No Answer
7. Legalize physician assisted suicide in Maine.
- No Answer
8. Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Should Maine recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- No
2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- No
3. Should Maine provide state-level spousal rights to same-sex couples?
- No
4. Do you support a moment of silence in public schools?
- Yes
5. Do you support voluntary prayer in public schools?
- Yes
6. Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods?
- No
7. Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs?
- Yes
8. Should the state government consider race and gender in state government contracting and hiring decisions?
- No
9. Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
- No
10. Should Maine continue affirmative action programs?
- No
11. Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
- Yes
12. Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
- Yes
13. Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
- No
14. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. 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.
- Like many citizens in Maine I am tired of the extraordinary tax burden put upon us by our state government. As a conservative voice in the Maine Legislature I will advocate for the taxpayer. There are three key issues driving our tax burden. The first is the high cost of energy, the second is the welfare system, and third is the high cost of health insurance for all of us in the state.
One important piece of the high energy cost in Maine is that the energy being sent out of Maine is cheaper than the energy that stays in...
Type: bill Chamber: upper
Type: joint resolution Chamber: lower
Type: bill Chamber: upper