Ben Brooks, Sr.'s Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State Senate (MD) - District 10, Democratic
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for State Senate (MD) - District 10
Key
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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.
Maryland State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Decisions of this nature should be between the individual, her doctor, her family and her God. However, I would support a 30 day period of delay between the decision and the action to validate certainty, as long as it does not endanger the individual. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Maryland's budget.
| No | a) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| No | c) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | ||
| No | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| The taxpayers are taxed enough already. The budget can be reduced by mitigating fraud and abuse. There was a 2018 budget surplus of $504 million. It has been projected that the surplus for 2019 will be $500 million due to the SALT (State and Local Tax) limitations that resulted from the passage of the TCJA (Tax Cut Jobs Act) of 2017. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| No | c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| We cannot engage in legal contracts with minors because we know that the neocortex has not fully developed at this stage. However, my position on this matter changes at the age of majority. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Maryland? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support legalized state-sponsored sports betting in Maryland? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support increasing state regulatory oversight of ride-sharing drivers (e.g. Uber, Lyft)? | ||
| i) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Maryland? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Maryland high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| The undocumented individuals, when employed, will be paying both social security and medicare taxes into the system, but will not be able to file for either until documented. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| A license should be required to operate any equipment, machinery or objects that could cause bodily harm and/or death. | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Maryland's health care programs? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Maryland's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Maryland's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Maryland state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 1. Refile bill for Pension exclusion for non-qualified retirement plans at age 65. The fiscal note would be around $10 million. Factoring in the projected $500 million 2019 surplus, the overall budgetary impact would be 2%. 2. Support legislation to shore up unmandated funding for state retirees prescription drug coverage, (Medicare Part D). 3. Introduce legislation to reduce the onerous penalties assessed on small businesses due to minor non-compliance issues. Abate penalty if corrective action is taken within a specific period of time. |
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