Steve Elkins' Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (MN) - 50B, Democratic/Farmer/Labor
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.
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Steve Elkins 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.
Minnesota 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? | ||
| I believe that every woman should have both the freedom and the resources to make her own reproductive health choices. The incidence of abortion should be reduced by providing fact-based sex education and access to effective birth control. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Minnesota'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? | ||
| Minnesota's tax structure generally provides adequate revenues and a fair balance of progressive income taxes and regressive sales and property taxes. Tax Conformity adjustments to this structure to offset the negative effects of the Federal Income Tax changes must be a priority for the new legislature. | |||
| 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? | ||
| "Dark Money" PACs whose donors are not disclosed should be banned. All contributions should be disclosed, including contributions to independent expenditure campaigns. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Marijuana should be regulated like alcohol and tobacco. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | 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 Minnesota? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Minnesota? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Minnesota high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| The State should adequately fund education at all levels so that local school districts do not have to rely so heavily on local property tax levies and tuition (for colleges). | |||
| 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? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Minnesota's health care programs? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring assisted-living facilities to be licensed by the state? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support a state tax on all prescription opioids? | ||
| The pricing of health care services must be made more transparent to consumers. Individuals and small businesses must have access to larger risk pools to enable them to provide health insurance to their employees at rates competitive with those negotiated by large employers (and this may mean providing their employees access to MinnesotaCare). | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Minnesota's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Minnesota state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increasing penalties on protesters who obstruct traffic, freeways, or access to airports? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| The State's economic growth is dependent on our Employers' ability to attract and retain a quality workforce. The primary prerequisites for Minnesota to achieve this are: Providing a quality education to our future workforce; providing affordable workforce housing; providing transportation options to connect workers with jobs; and providing access to affordable healthcare to those workers and their families. |
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