Denise Hamilton's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
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Denise Hamilton submitted the 2016 Political Courage Test after the official deadline.
Texas State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortions be illegal after the first trimester of pregnancy? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I stand with SCOTUS in striking down Texas HB2 as it placed an undo burden on women for no good reason. The cutbacks of funding to Planned Parenthood has severely harmed the women of Texas because the loss of well woman services has not been replaced by the State. It's as if the State Legislature cares nothing about women, especially the poor. In the case of rape, incest, or life of undue burden mother public funds should be available. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Texas'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 Texas's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| No | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | d) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | e) Sales taxes | ||
| No | f) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| Eliminate State funds being used to give unnecessary tax breaks to special interest groups at the command of super PACs like ALEC. | |||
| Restore the money taken from our State college and universities by previous Legislatures. Students should not be forced to take on an oppressive level of debt just so special interest groups can get big tax breaks. The single greatest investment we can make is in our children. I support fully funded Pre-K and restoring as much of the $5.4 billion stolen from public schools as possible, even to dipping into the $18 billion Rainy Day fund. Our State can save a ton of public funds simply by decriminalizing marijuana, and then taxing it!!! | |||
| Gasoline taxes in Texas have not seen an increase in over 20 years and I support a modest increase. Cigarette taxes need to be raised greatly to counter the harm they do to our citizens and health care costs. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information is already required by TEC. Photo IDs need to be supported by Affidavits in order to give all eligible voters a fair opportunity to vote. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Marijuana needs to be decriminalized, regulated, and taxed. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| No | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| State and Federal official, including elected official, need to be held to the same standards of drug testing as welfare applicants | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| No | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Texas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Common Core may have it's benefits, but it has no relevance in the business and engineering and scientific fields. I am not against Charter Schools, however they are not a complete substitute for properly funded public schools as some who want to privatize education claim. There is no tenure for teachers in Texas. | |||
| Yes | 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)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Texas's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Control over fracking and groundwater issues need to be returned to local communities in Texas. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support allowing concealed carry on public college campuses in Texas? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| I am a holder of a Concealed Handgun License (CHL) and strong supporter of mandatory training in conjunction with gun licensing. | |||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| While monetary limits on malpractice lawsuits may be individually unfair, the gross impact of not having any limits is extreme health care coasts being passed on to citizens. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Texas's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Texas's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
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