Harold Ritchie - Political Positions -

Harold L. Ritchie

Representative Harold L. Ritchie's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

Full Name:	Harold L. Ritchie
Office:	State House (LA) - District 75, Democratic
First Elected:	10/24/2003
Last Elected:	11/19/2011

Gender:	Male
Family:	Wife: Patsy; 5 Children: Bill, Tara, Kristen, Lewis, Rob
Birth Date:	05/24/1949
Birth Place:	Bogalusa, LA
Home City:	Pine, LA
Religion:	Baptist

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What is the Political Courage Test?

Louisiana State Legislative Election 2003 National Political Awareness Test

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.

The Political Courage Test asks candidates which items they will support if elected. It does not ask them to indicate which items they will oppose. Through extensive research of public polling data, we discovered that voters are more concerned with what candidates would support when elected to office, not what they oppose. If a candidate does not select a response to any part or all of any question, it does not necessarily indicate that the candidate is opposed to that particular item.

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Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning abortion.
	a) Abortions should always be illegal.
	b) Abortions should always be legal.
	c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
X	d) Abortions should be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape.
X	e) Abortions should be legal when the life of the woman is endangered.
X	f) Eliminate public funding for abortions and public funding of organizations that advocate or perform abortions.
	g) Other or expanded principles

State Budget: Indicate the funding levels you will support for the following general categories.
Slightly Increase Funding	a) Education (Higher)
Greatly Increase Funding	b) Education (K-12)
Slightly Increase Funding	c) Environment
Slightly Increase Funding	d) Health care
Maintain Funding Status	e) Law enforcement
Greatly Increase Funding	f) Transportation and Highway infrastructure
Maintain Funding Status	g) Welfare
	h) Other or expanded categories

State Taxes: Indicate the tax levels you will support.
Slightly Increase	a) Alcohol taxes
Maintain Status	b) Capital gains taxes
Maintain Status	c) Cigarette taxes
Slightly Decrease	d) Corporate taxes
Maintain Status	e) Gasoline taxes
Maintain Status	f) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
Maintain Status	g) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
Eliminate	h) Inheritance taxes
Maintain Status	i) Property taxes
Maintain Status	j) Sales taxes
Maintain Status	k) Vehicle taxes
Eliminate	l) Other or expanded categories
Machinery & equipment & Franchise Tax on debt for business.
Yes	m) Should Internet sales be taxed?
	n) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding campaign finance and government reform.
Yes	a) Do you support the current limit of two four-year terms for Louisiana governors?
Undecided	b) Do you support the current limit of three four-year terms for Louisiana state senators and representatives?
c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative and gubernatorial candidates?
Yes	1) Individual
Yes	2) PAC
Yes	3) Corporate
Yes	4) Political Parties
Yes	d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
No	e) Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
No	f) Do you support voting on-line?
Yes	g) Do you support adopting statewide standards for counting, verifying and ensuring accuracy of votes?
Yes	h) Do you support prohibiting the reporting of media exit polling results until all polling locations in Louisiana are closed?
No	i) Should Louisiana recognize civil unions between same-sex couples?
Yes	j) Should Louisiana restrict marriage to a union only between a man and a woman?
Undecided	k) Do you support permitting insurance companies to enact rate increases or decreases of up to 10% without approval from the State Rating Commission?
Undecided	l) Should Louisiana restrict public access to government records that are deemed security-sensitive?
	m) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) to address crime.
	a) Increase state funds for construction of state prisons and for hiring of additional prison staff.
	b) Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons.
X	c) Support the use of the death penalty in Louisiana.
X	d) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released.
X	e) End parole for repeat violent offenders.
X	f) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders.
	g) Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes.
X	h) Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
	i) Minors accused of a violent crime should be prosecuted as adults.
	j) Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation or disability be prosecuted as hate crimes.
X	k) Ban the use of racial profiling by law enforcement officers.
X	l) Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
	m) Increase state funding for additional security of critical infrastructure against terrorist attacks.
X	n) Prohibit any open alcohol containers in vehicles.
	o) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
	a) Support national standards and testing of public school students.
	b) Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious).
	c) Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure).
X	d) Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers.
	e) Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay.
	f) Support displaying the Ten Commandments in public schools.
	g) Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
X	h) Require public schools to administer high school exit exams.
X	i) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries.
X	j) Increase state funding to expand Head Start programs.
X	k) Provide state funding for tax incentives and financial aid to help make college more affordable.
	l) Support age-appropriate sexual education programs that teach about abstinence, contraceptives and HIV/STD prevention methods.
X	m) Support abstinence-only sexual education programs.
	n) Other or expanded principles

Employment: Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning employment.
X	a) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
X	b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector to encourage investment and economic expansion.
X	c) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding or relocating businesses.
X	d) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees.
	e) Increase state funds to provide child care for children of low-income working families.
	f) Include sexual orientation in Louisiana's anti-discrimination laws.
	g) Raise Louisiana's minimum wage to $6.15 an hour.
	h) Require that Louisiana's minimum wage stay $1 an hour above the federal minimum wage.
	i) Other or expanded principles

Affirmative Action: Should race, ethnicity or gender be taken into account in state agencies' decisions on:
Yes	a) College and university admissions
Undecided	b) Public employment
Undecided	c) State contracting
	d) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy.
X	a) Promote increased use of alternative fuel technology.
X	b) Use state funds to clean up former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated, unused or abandoned.
X	c) Support state funding for open space preservation.
	d) Enact environmental regulations even if they are stricter than federal law.
	e) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning gun issues.
	a) Ban the sale or transfer of semi-automatic guns, except those used for hunting.
X	b) Maintain and strengthen the enforcement of existing state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
	c) Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
	d) Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns.
X	e) Allow citizens to carry concealed guns.
	f) Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns.
	g) Require background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows.
	h) Require a license for gun possession.
	i) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health issues.
X	a) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms or state-funded care where necessary.
	b) Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
X	c) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
X	d) Support patients' right to sue their HMOs.
X	e) Support patients' right to appeal to an administrative board of specialists when services are denied by their HMO.
	f) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
	g) Legalize physician-assisted suicide in Louisiana.
	h) Increase state funding for training health workers to recognize and respond to the release of biological agents.
	i) Other or expanded principles

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare.
X	a) Support current time limits on welfare benefits.
X	b) Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients.
X	c) Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients.
X	d) Provide child care for welfare recipients who work.
X	e) Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work.
	f) Eliminate government-funded welfare programs.
	g) Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations.
	h) Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to expand state services to include the working poor.
	i) Other or expanded principles

	In a total of seventy-five (75) words or less, please explain what your two main legislative priorities will be if elected. Please explain how you would obtain any additional government funding needed to implement these priorities.
Make Louisiana more business friendly, to expand businesses here and to attract business to Louisiana. Invest more in education at the Pre-K to 4th grade & Community Colleges & Technical Colleges. Slow the expansion of state spending.

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Harold L. Ritchie

Representative Harold L. Ritchie's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

Louisiana State Legislative Election 2003 National Political Awareness Test

Abortion Issues

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

Budgetary, Spending and Tax Issues

State Budget: Indicate the funding levels you will support for the following general categories.

State Taxes: Indicate the tax levels you will support.

Campaign Finance and Governmental Reform Issues

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

c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative and gubernatorial candidates?

Crime Issues

Indicate which principles you support (if any) to address crime.

Educational Issues

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

Employment and Affirmative Action Issues

Employment: Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning employment.

Affirmative Action: Should race, ethnicity or gender be taken into account in state agencies' decisions on:

Environmental and Energy Issues

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

Gun Issues

Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning gun issues.

Health Issues

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

Welfare and Poverty Issues

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

Legislative Priorities

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