| Full Name: | Daniel 'Dan' H. Branch |
|---|---|
| Office: | State House (TX) - District 108, Republican |
| First Elected: | 11/05/2002 |
| Last Elected: | 11/06/2012 |
| Next Election: | 2014 |
| Gender: | Male |
|---|---|
| Family: | Wife: Stacey; 5 Children: Daniel Jr., Spencer, Catherine, Charles, Sarah |
| Birth Date: | 03/05/1958 |
| Home City: | Dallas, TX |
| Religion: | Christian |
What is the Political Courage 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.
Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? |
 | b) Should abortion be legal only within 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? |
| e) Do you support requiring a patient seeking an elective abortion to view the results of a sonogram? |
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? |
| Yes | g) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? |
| Yes | h) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? |
| i) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? |
| j) Other or expanded principles |
1) 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. | |
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) |
| Slightly Increase | b) Education (K-12) |
| Slightly Decrease | c) Environment |
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care |
| Maintain Status | e) Law enforcement |
| Slightly Decrease | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure |
| Slightly Decrease | g) Welfare |
| h) Other or expanded categories |
2) 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. | |
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes |
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes |
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes |
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes |
| Greatly Decrease | e) Property taxes |
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes |
| g) Other or expanded categories |
3) Budget Stabilization | |
Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Texas' budget. | |
| Yes | a) Tapping into Texas' "rainy day" fund |
| No | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders |
| c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities |
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees |
| e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients |
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services |
| g) Other or expanded principles | |
TX tuition rates set by university regents - not legislature |
|
| Yes | a) Do you support further limiting the use of eminent domain in Texas? |
| Yes | b) Should voters be required to present government-issued photo identification at the polls? |
| No | c) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Texas governors? |
| No | d) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Texas state legislators? |
e) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government? | |
| No | 1) Individual |
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee |
| Yes | 3) Corporate |
| No | 4) Political Party |
| No | f) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? |
| Yes | g) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? |
| h) Other or expanded principles |
| Yes | 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? |
| c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? |
| d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? |
| e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? |
| Yes | f) Do you support a ban on smoking in public places? |
| No | g) Do you support a ban on the use of trans fats in restaurants? |
| Yes | h) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? |
| i) Other or expanded principles |
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? |
| b) Do you support legalizing casino-style gambling in Texas? |
| Yes | c) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? |
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? |
| Yes | e) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? |
| No | f) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? |
| g) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? |
| h) Other or expanded principles |
| a) Do you support national education standards? |
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? |
| Yes | c) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? |
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for charter schools? |
| Yes | e) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? |
| f) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Texas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? |
| g) Other or expanded principles |
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? |
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? |
| c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? |
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Texas' energy infrastructure? |
| No | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? |
| f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? |
| g) Other or expanded principles |
| a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? |
| Yes | b) Do you support requiring background checks on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? |
| Yes | c) Do you support allowing individuals to carry concealed guns? |
| No | d) Do you support requiring a license 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) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? |
| Yes | e) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? |
| No | f) Do you support legalizing physician-assisted suicide in Texas? |
| No | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? |
| h) Other or expanded principles |
| Yes | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? |
| b) Should Texas allow same-sex couples to form civil unions? |
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? |
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? |
| e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? |
| No | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Texas' anti-discrimination laws? |
| No | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Texas' anti-discrimination laws? |
| h) Other or expanded principles |
| Please explain in a total of 100 words or less, your top two or three priorities if elected. If they require additional funding for implementation, please explain how you would obtain this funding. | |
Making state government more fiscally responsible |
|
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