Virginia State Legislative Election 1999 National Political Awareness Test

Abortion

1. Abortions should always be legally available.
- No Answer

2. Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
- No Answer

3. Abortions should be legal when pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
- X

4. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- X

5. Abortions should always be illegal.
- No Answer

6. Abortions should be limited by waiting periods and parental notification requirements.
- X

7. Prohibit the late-term abortion procedure known as "partial-birth" abortion.
- X

8. Support "buffer zones" by requiring demonstrators to stay at least 15 feet away from abortion clinic doorways and driveways.
- No Answer

9. Other
- No Answer

10. Should Virginia government funding be provided to clinics and medical facilities that provide abortion services?
- No

Affirmative Action

1. College and university admissions
- No

2. Public employment
- No

3. State contracting
- No

4. Other
- No Answer

Crime

1. Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
- No Answer

2. Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
- No Answer

3. End parole for repeat violent offenders.
- X

4. Support the use of the death penalty.
- X

5. Oppose the death penalty.
- No Answer

6. Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
- X

7. Inform communities when a convicted sex offender moves into the community.
- X

8. Increase state funds for programs which rehabilitate and educate inmates during and after their prison sentences.
- No Answer

9. Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer

10. Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
- X

11. Strengthen penalties and sentences for sex offenders.
- X

12. Support the blood-alcohol-content limit defining drunk driving.
- X

13. Prosecute juveniles who commit murder or other serious violent crimes as adults.
- X

14. Other
- No Answer

Economy and Employment

1. Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses.
- No Answer

2. Reduce state government regulations on the private sector in order to encourage investment and economic expansion.
- X

3. Support limits on cash damages in lawsuits against businesses and professionals for product liability or malpractice.
- X

4. Increase funding for state job-training programs that retrain displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
- X

5. Other
- No Answer

Education

1. Increase state funds for professional development of public school teachers and administrators.
- No Answer

2. Encourage private or corporate investment in public school programs.
- X

3. Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
- X

4. Favor charter schools where independent groups receive state authorization and funding to establish new schools.
- X

5. Support sex education programs which stress abstinence.
- X

6. Support sex education programs which stress safe sexual practices.
- No Answer

7. Increase state funds for school construction and facility maintenance.
- No Answer

8. Increase state funds for hiring of additional teachers.
- No Answer

9. Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
- X

10. Support the Board of Education's new higher standards for teacher certification.
- X

11. Adopt performance-based funding for Virginia's 38 state universities and community colleges.
- No Answer

12. Increase state funding to public universities and community colleges so they can lower tuition rates.
- X

13. Other
- No Answer

Environment & Energy

1. Require the use of cleaner burning fuels in order to prevent pollution.
- No Answer

2. Support "self-audit" legislation which creates incentives for industries to audit themselves and clean up pollution.
- X

3. Require a cost/benefit analysis to determine the economic impact of proposed environmental regulations before they are implemented.
- X

4. Require the state to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses on privately-owned land.
- X

5. Provide funding for recycling programs in Virginia.
- X

6. Request added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environmental regulations.
- X

7. Suspend participation in unfunded, federally-mandated environmental protection legislation.
- X

8. Restructure the electric utility industry to allow consumers to choose their power company.
- X

9. Shut down landfills that are most damaging to ground water and do not meet current standards of environmental safety.
- No Answer

10. Other
- No Answer

11. Should state environmental regulations be stricter than federal law?
- No

1. Mega-landfills that meet current environmental standards
- Slightly Increase

2. Smaller, older landfills
- Slightly Increase

3. Limits on the amount of trash in privately-owned Virginia landfills
- Maintain Status

4. Trash barge traffic on Virginia rivers
- Greatly Increase

5. Trash trucks on Virginia highways
- Greatly Increase

Government Reform

1. State Senators and Delegates
- No Answer

2. Governor
- Yes

1. Individual
- No

2. PAC
- No

3. Corporate
- No

4. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes

5. Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
- Undecided

6. Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
- No

7. Do you support Virginia relying more on the private job market as a guide in setting public employee salaries?
- Yes

8. Do you support requiring voters to show identification when voting?
- Yes

9. Other
- No Answer

Gun

1. Ban the sale or transfer of all forms of semi-automatic weapons.
- No Answer

2. Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- No Answer

3. Maintain state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- No Answer

4. Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
- X

5. Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms by law-abiding citizens.
- X

6. Allow citizens to carry concealed firearms.
- X

7. Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on firearms.
- No Answer

8. Other
- No Answer

Health

1. Provide tax incentives to small businesses that provide health care to their employees.
- X

2. Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care when necessary.
- No Answer

3. Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
- No Answer

4. Use state funds to continue some Medicaid coverage for legal immigrants.
- No Answer

5. Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
- X

6. The guarantee of medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
- No Answer

7. Increase state funding for informing parents about the Children's Medical Security Insurance Plan, the free health program for uninsured children.
- X

8. Other
- No Answer

Social

1. Increase state funding for programs to prevent teen pregnancy.
- X

2. Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees.
- X

3. Increase state funds to provide child care to children in low-income working families.
- X

4. Deny or suspend state-issued permits and licenses to parents who are delinquent in paying court-ordered child support.
- X

5. Ban smoking in public places.
- No Answer

6. Increase state funding for Head Start in order to serve additional children and/or increase services from a half day to a full day.
- No Answer

7. Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
- No Answer

8. Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans, and job training and placement.
- X

9. Other
- No Answer

10. Do you believe that the Virginia government should include sexual orientation in Virginia's anti-discrimination laws?
- No

11. Do you believe that the Virginia government should recognize same-sex marriages?
- No

State Budget

1. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Decrease

2. Education (Higher)
- Slightly Decrease

3. Environment
- Slightly Decrease

4. Health care
- Slightly Decrease

5. Law enforcement
- Slightly Decrease

6. Transportation infrastructure (highways, roads, bridges)
- Slightly Decrease

7. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

8. Other
- No Answer

1. Returned to Virginia citizens
- X

2. Invested in state programs
- No Answer

3. Other
- No Answer

State Taxes

1. Capital gains taxes
- Greatly Decrease

2. Cigarette taxes
- Greatly Decrease

3. Corporate taxes
- Greatly Decrease

4. Food taxes
- Slightly Decrease

5. Gasoline taxes
- Maintain Status

6. Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease

7. Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
- Slightly Decrease

8. Natural Resources taxes
- Maintain Status

9. Property taxes
- Eliminate

10. Sales taxes
- Maintain Status

11. Other
- No Answer

12. Do you support a flat tax structure for state income taxes?
- Yes

13. Do you support accelerating the five year phase-out of the local automobile tax?
- No Answer

14. Do you support raising gasoline taxes to meet a shortfall in highway construction funds?
- No

15. Do you support freezing local real estate taxes for homeowners over the age of 65?
- No Answer

Transportation

Explain what you will do as a state legislator to address this concern.
- No Answer

Welfare

1. Maintain current time limits on welfare benefits.
- X

2. Maintain the requirement that able-bodied recipients work in order to receive benefits.
- X

3. Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- X

4. Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
- X

5. Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
- X

6. Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
- X

7. Allow welfare recipients to remain eligible for benefits while saving money for education, starting a business, or buying a home.
- No Answer

8. Limit benefits given to recipients if they have additional children while on welfare.
- X

9. Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
- No Answer

10. Other
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

Please explain what your two main legislative priorities will be if elected. Please explain how you would obtain any additional government funding needed to implement these priorities.
- No Answer