Jonathon D. Hill is a Republican member of the South Carolina House of Representatives, representing District 8. He was first elected to the chamber in 2014.
Former Second Vice Chair, Interstate Cooperation Committee, South Carolina State House of Representatives
Second Vice Chair, Medical, Military, Public and Municipal Affairs Committee
Member, Subcommittee on Social Services, Mental Health, and Children's Affairs
— Awards:
— Father's Name:
— Father's Occupation:
Favorite Book:
The Law, Frederick Bastiat
Favorite Movie:
Interstellar, The Good Lie, Dances With Wolves
Favorite TV Shows:
Star Trek, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The West Wing, Monk
— Mother's Name:
Reason for Seeking Public Office:
I?ve been a TEA Party activist since 2009, when hundreds of like-minded citizens in my area joined others all over the country to make the statement that we?re Taxed Enough Already.
Here?s what I learned: activism only goes so far.
The day this really hit me in the face was during the Obamacare debate. I was with other activists in Washington, D.C. on Saturday and Sunday before passage, walking the halls of Congress trying to persuade them not to vote for Obamacare. They locked their office doors to get away from us.
There were thousands of people there rallying outside the Capitol. The Congressional switchboard was jammed with people calling and writing their legislators, but to no avail. Obama, Pelosi, and Reid managed to twist enough arms to get the votes they needed to enact socialized medicine in America.
As I watched from the gallery of the U.S. House that night, I knew that at the end of the day, it?s the people who get elected and cast the votes that matter.
Imagine my chagrin when that scenario repeated itself in Columbia over and over again during the next few years, with our pleas on various issues falling on the deaf ears of self-serving politicians who care more about getting re-elected than doing what is right.
Sarah Palin said ?It?s always safer in politics to avoid risk, to just kind of go along with the status quo. But I didn?t get into government to do the safe and easy things.?
I hope to be that kind of public servant. I am willing to wage war, if necessary, from the House Floor for the cause of liberty.
1. Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
- Pro-life
2. Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy?
- Yes
3. Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
- No
4. Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered?
- Yes
5. Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes
6. Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor?
- Yes
7. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures?
- Yes
8. Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
- Yes
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Tapping into South Carolina's "rainy day" fund
- No Answer
2. Decreasing funding for public universities
- Yes
3. Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions
- No
4. Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees
- Yes
5. Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients
- Yes
6. Other or expanded principles
- I would also like to see several state agencies ended, which would free up the revenue spent on their budgets. For instance, AHEC, Arts Commission, Commission for the Blind, Housing and Finance Development Authority, Department of Commerce, SC Conservation Bank, Human Affairs Commission, Commission on Minority Affairs, Infrastructure Bank Board, and others. About half our state budget could be eliminated.
1. Education (higher)
- Eliminate
2. Education (K-12)
- Slightly Increase
3. Environment
- Maintain Status
4. Health care
- Greatly Decrease
5. Law enforcement/corrections
- Slightly Increase
6. Transportation/infrastructure
- Slightly Increase
7. Welfare
- Eliminate
8. Other or expanded categories
- No Answer
1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status
2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status
3. Corporate taxes
- Eliminate
4. Small business taxes
- Eliminate
5. Gas/Oil taxes
- Maintain Status
6. Property taxes
- Eliminate
7. Sales taxes
- Slightly Increase
8. Income taxes (low-income families)
- Slightly Decrease
9. Income taxes (mid-income families)
- Slightly Decrease
10. Income taxes (high-income families)
- Slightly Decrease
11. Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases?
- Yes
12. Other or expanded principles
- I would like to see the property tax eliminated in favor of consumption-based (i.e. sales) tax. If we can reduce the income tax at the same time that would be wonderful.
1. Individual
- No
2. Political Action Committee
- No
3. Corporate
- No
4. Political Party
- No
5. Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits?
- No
6. Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
- Yes
7. Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
- Yes
8. Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
- Yes
9. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
- Yes
2. Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment?
- Yes
3. Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana?
- No
4. Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
- No
5. Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
- Yes
6. Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction?
- Yes
7. Other or expanded principles
- On c), I support legalizing the possession and use of small amounts of marijuana for medical use, and I support imposing civil penalties (fines) instead of incarceration for possession for non-medical use.
1. Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
- No
2. Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
- Yes
3. Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
- Yes
4. Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers?
- No
5. Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits?
- No
6. Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
- Yes
7. Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation?
- No
8. Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure?
- No
9. Do you support an increase of the minimum wage?
- No
10. Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them?
- Yes
11. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative?
- No
2. Do you support a merit pay system for teachers?
- No
3. Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers?
- No
4. Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school?
- Yes
5. Do you support state funding for charter schools?
- Yes
6. Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid?
- No
7. Should illegal immigrants who graduate from South Carolina high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
- No
8. Other or expanded principles
- Merit pay is a mistake in many types of jobs, including teaching, because it replaces intrinsic motivations with extrinsic motivations. The book "Made to Stick" gives a good example of this: a group of local firefighters were offended at the offer of a popcorn machine in exchange for promoting a fire safety program. Instead of merit pay, which requires measuring productivity (impossible to do well outside of manufacturing), we should instead focus on teacher freedom, cutting out red tape and high-stakes testing, and enforcing discipline in the classroom.
1. Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)?
- No
2. Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)?
- No
3. Do you support state funding for improvements to South Carolina's energy infrastructure?
- No
4. Do you support state funding for open space preservation?
- No
5. Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
- No
6. Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry?
- No
7. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
- No
2. Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
- No
3. Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns?
- Yes
4. Should a license be required for gun possession?
- No
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option?
- No
2. Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform?
- Yes
3. Do you support interstate health insurance compacts?
- Yes
4. Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")?
- No
5. Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
- No
6. Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits?
- Yes
7. Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes?
- Yes
8. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
1. Do you support same-sex marriage?
- No
2. Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in South Carolina's anti-discrimination laws?
- No
3. Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in South Carolina's anti-discrimination laws?
- No
4. Based on the religious beliefs of the owners, should businesses be allowed to refuse services to their employees and/or customers?
- Yes
5. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer
In the following area, 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.
- 1. Judicial reform - let Governor appoint, and Legislature confirm judges, eliminate the convoluted system we have now2. DOT reform - eliminate the Transportation Commission, make SCDOT a cabinet agency
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