Stephen Meredith's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State Senate (KY) - District 5, Republican
Key
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.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Stephen Meredith did not provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2024 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Kentucky State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Kentucky's budget.2) State Spending:Indicate what state funding levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.3) State Taxes:Indicate what state tax levels (#1-6) you support for the following general categories. Select one level per category; you may use a number more than once.
| Yes | a) Tapping into Kentucky's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| Yes | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| Yes | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Eliminate | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Eliminate | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| A state budget when not balanced is an emergency situation which left unchecked evolves into a financial crisis such as with the unfunded pensions in Kentucky. When this occurs, no budgeted state expenditure should be exempt from reduction until such time as the budget is balanced again. When reducing expenditures, decreasing the size of government should be the first area to institute reductions. | |||
| Additional state funding should come from additional tax revenue created through economic development and the corresponding increase in jobs. The reduction in welfare funding should come from moving welfare recipients into the workforce as these additional jobs are created. The savings from the reduction in welfare can then be used to fund other needed services and programs within the state. | |||
| I support total elimination of income taxes and offsetting the loss of tax revenue by increasing sales tax. Taxing productivity instead of consumption is a more equitable tax. Eliminating income tax would immediately put money into the pockets of working families which would create additional job. It would allow working families to put money aside for a house purchase and college tuition for their children. The increase in cigarette taxes should be put in a special fund to offset the costs of medical services to pay for the treatment of the illnesses and diseases directly related to smoking. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support alternatives to incarceration for certain non-violent offenders, such as mandatory counseling or substance abuse treatment? | ||
| No | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| No | g Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in Kentucky? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| No | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| Yes | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| Yes | j) Would you support the enactment of statewide 'Right to Work' legislation? | ||
| I support "Right to Work" on religious grounds. Since the majority of political contributions from unions support candidates of the Democratic Party, they are, by default, funding the Democratic Party platform. I object to forcing Christians to provide money in the form of union dues to specifically promote a pro-choice agenda. I believe this is an infringement upon the religious rights of our citizens who are pro-life. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| No | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Kentucky high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Kentucky's energy infrastructure? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| No | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| No | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Kentucky's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Kentucky's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Marriage is a religious institution between a man and a woman. I believe persons of the same-sex should be allowed to share property,claim each other as dependents and provide financial assistance and benefits to each other under the terms of a civil union agreement or contract, but this relationship should not be recognized as a marriage. | |||
| Top priority is fiscal responsibility and reducing the massive debt Kentucky faces. Second priority is economic development to create jobs thus reducing poverty, reducing the tax burden on our citizens and raising the standard of living for all Kentuckians. Third priority is meaningful healthcare reform. There is presently adequate funding within the healthcare delivery system to meet the healthcare needs of all Kentuckians if those funds were spent in a reasonable and responsible manner. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.