Kansas State Legislative Election 2008 Political Courage Test

Abortion

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

1. Abortions should always be illegal.
- X

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.
- No Answer

5. Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
- No Answer

6. Abortions should be subject to a mandatory waiting period.
- X

7. Require clinics to give parental notification before performing abortions on minors.
- X

8. Allow relatives of a woman who is planning or has had a late-term abortion to file suit against the provider if they believe the abortion violates the law.
- X

9. Require abortion providers to offer the woman an opportunity to view an ultrasound before the abortion is performed.
- X

10. Allow Kansas prosecutors to investigate a suspected violation of late-term abortion laws in the county where the abortion was performed or in the county in which the woman resides.
- X

11. Other or expanded principles
- Every child is a gift from God. Our founding fathers recognized that fact when they penned, "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". If one does not have life, you never get to liberty and the pursuit of happiness. All human life is valuable.

Budget and Tax

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.

1. Education (Higher)
- Maintain Status

2. Education (K-12)
- Maintain Status

3. Emergency preparedness
- Maintain Status

4. Environment
- Slightly Decrease

5. Health care
- Slightly Decrease

6. Law enforcement
- Slightly Increase

7. Transportation and Highway infrastructure
- Maintain Status

8. Welfare
- Slightly Decrease

9. Other or expanded categories
- Public safety is a number one issue . . . without it none of the other categories of spending in the state budget mean much of anything. Health care should revolve around personal responsibility in terms of preventive measures to ensure a healthy population and consumer driven strategies for disclosing costs. Consumers of health care need information to make informed economic choices. Government should maintain infrastructure like roads, bridges, proper solid waste disposal and make provisions for safe drinking water. A balanced approach to securing energy is imperative. Government should support intiatives toward job creation for its citizens including education.

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.

1. Alcohol taxes
- Maintain Status

2. Cigarette taxes
- Maintain Status

3. Corporate taxes
- Slightly Decrease

4. Gasoline taxes
- Slightly Decrease

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

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

7. Property taxes
- Slightly Decrease

8. Sales taxes
- Greatly Decrease

9. Vehicle taxes
- Maintain Status

10. Other or expanded categories
- Every avenue should be explored in terms of taxes. I am not a proponent of increasing taxes to cover expenditures, rather . . . the state budget should be reviewed for expenditures that do not provide needed services. Then, those expenditures should be cut from the budget. In the mid-1990's the Kansas state all funds budget was approximately $7 billion. It is now twice that amount, $14 billion. Explosive growth has occured in the state budget far beyond that of inflation each year.

11. Should state sales taxes be extended to Internet sales?
- Undecided

12. Should accounts such as a "rainy day" fund be used to balance the state budget?
- No

13. Should fee increases be used to balance the state budget?
- No

14. Other or expanded principles
- A fee imposed by government is a tax in reality. In Kansas we have a statutory 7.5% monetary cushion to utilize as a mechanism for uneven cash flow throughout the year. It is not a 'rainy day fund' nor should it be used that way. The state budget should be balanced the same way a family budget is balanced . . . by making informed proposed expenditure decisions by identifying priorities. Then, living within the limitations of revenue.

Campaign Finance and Government Reform

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.

1. Do you support the current limit of terms for Kansas governors?
- Yes

2. Do you support limiting the number of terms for Kansas state senators and representatives?
- Yes

Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

1. Individual
- Undecided

2. PAC
- Undecided

3. Corporate
- Undecided

4. Political Parties
- Undecided

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 Kansas participate in the federal REAL ID program?
- Undecided

8. Should voters be required to show photo identification before voting beginning in 2010?
- Yes

Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

1. Other or expanded principles
- I believe that both the Senate and the House would do a better job of going about the peoples' business if you hold elections every two years and stagger the terms of both Houses. Make the representatives terms 4 years, and the senate terms 6 years. Elect 1/2 of the House every two years and 1/3 of the Senate every two years. That way, 1/2 of the House and 2/3 of the Senate would not be up for reelection and the climate would not lean toward the antics of sweeping election years.

Crime

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

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

2. Support the death penalty in Kansas.
- X

3. Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
- X

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

5. Decriminalize the possession of small amounts of marijuana.
- No Answer

6. Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
- No Answer

7. Support state and local law enforcement officials enforcing federal immigration laws.
- X

8. Support hate crime legislation.
- No Answer

9. Other or expanded principles
- Vocational education within the prison system is necessary not only for control within the wall for inmates, but it also supports the goals of a pre-release program. Approximately two years from release, an inmate needs the mentoring of responsible adults within the community to teach them attainment of the necessities of life. This should include driver's license/government ID acquisition, money management, proper job application skills, discipline for time management, securing living quarters, food and clothing. A plan for living outside of prison as a productive, law-abiding citizen must be made and then implemented.

Education

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

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.
- No Answer

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.
- No Answer

9. Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
- No Answer

10. Support allowing illegal immigrant high school graduates of Kansas to pay in-state tuition at public universities.
- No Answer

11. Other or expanded principles
- Parents must partner with teachers to raise responsible citizens. Over the years, the state of Kansas has not yet identified how much is enough to spend on the education of those students who by Kansas law must be educated (from ages 7 - 18). Good schools prepare our children for success and need the involvment of tax-paying citizens in communities.

Employment

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

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.
- No Answer

5. Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families.
- No Answer

6. Include sexual orientation in Kansas' anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer

7. Include gender identity in Kansas' anti-discrimination laws.
- No Answer

8. Increase the state minimum wage.
- No Answer

9. Support laws that prevent employers from dismissing employees at will.
- No Answer

10. Support financial punishments for those who knowingly employ illegal immigrants.
- No Answer

11. Support increased work requirements for able-bodied welfare recipients.
- No Answer

12. Increase funding for employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
- No Answer

13. Other or expanded principles
- I support initiatives that take Kansas citizens' expertise and provide it to business entities that can effectively find a market for those skills or entice companies to locate in a healthy business environment in Kansas. Too much government regulation thwarts that goal.

Environment and Energy

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

1. Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
- X

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.
- X

4. Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused, or abandoned.
- X

5. Support funding for improvements to Kansas' power generating and transmission facilities.
- X

6. Support funding for open space preservation.
- X

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. Support the construction of two new coal-fired power plants in South West Kansas built and operated by Sunflower Electric Power Corp.
- X

10. Other or expanded principles
- A mixture of energy sources should be encompassed into Kansas energy initiatives . . . a methodical, common sense approach to finding energy sources is imperative to a balanced marketplace of energy.

Gun

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

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?
- No Answer

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

Health

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

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.
- No Answer

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

4. Allow patients to sue their HMOs.
- No Answer

5. Require hospitals and labs to release reports on infections that are a risk to public health, while not compromising patient confidentiality.
- X

6. Legalize physician assisted suicide in Kansas.
- No Answer

7. Support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes.
- No Answer

8. Other or expanded principles
- Health care should be consumer driven . . . pricing for health care services should be posted in the marketplace so that consumers can "shop" for needed services according to price and quality.

Social

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues.

1. Should Kansas recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
- No

2. Should same-sex couples be allowed to marry?
- No

3. Should Kansas 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?
- Undecided

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?
- Undecided

9. Do you support affirmative action in public college admissions?
- Undecided

10. Should Kansas continue affirmative action programs?
- Undecided

11. Do you support state funding of stem cell research?
- Yes

12. Do you support state funding of embryonic stem cell research?
- No

13. Do you support allowing pharmacists who conscientiously object to emergency contraception to refuse to dispense it?
- Yes

14. Other or expanded principles
- No Answer

Legislative Priorities

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.
- Review Kansas statues for outdated, inconsistent, ignored, non-utilized laws. Hold hearings to review and introduce legislation to repeal if unnecessary.Scrutinize the state budget expenditures for compliance with the state's strategic goals and intended outcomes.With the current high prices for energy, food, shelter, etc. the state needs to tighten its belt and not increase taxes which deter sound economic development via business.