| Full Name: | Gary Elkins |
|---|---|
| Office: | State House (TX) - District 135, Republican |
| First Elected: | 1994 |
| Last Elected: | 11/06/2012 |
| Next Election: | 2014 |
| Gender: | Male |
|---|---|
| Family: | Wife: Julie Ann; 4 Children: Crystal, Jeremy, Grace, Rachel |
| Birth Date: | 03/15/1955 |
| Birth Place: | Houston, TX |
| Home City: | Jersey Village, TX |
| Religion: | Christian- Assembly of God |
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.
Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning abortion. | |
| a) Abortions should always be illegal. | |
| b) Abortions should always be legally available. | |
| c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy. | |
| d) Abortions should be legal when pregnancy results from incest, rape or the life of the woman is endangered. | |
| X | e) Abortions should be limited by waiting periods and notification requirements as decided by each state government. |
| X | f) Prohibit the dilation and extraction procedure, also known as "partial-birth" abortion. |
| g) Support "buffer zones" at abortion clinics by requiring demonstrators to remain a certain distance from doorways and driveways. | |
| X | h) Prohibit public funding for abortions and organizations that advocate or perform abortions. |
| X | i) Require licensing for facilities that perform fewer than 300 abortions per year. |
| j) Other | |
State Budget: Indicate the funding levels you will support for the following general categories. | |
| Maintain Funding Status | a) Education (Higher) |
| Maintain Funding Status | b) Education (K-12) |
| Greatly Decrease Funding | c) Environment |
| Maintain Funding Status | d) Health care |
| Slightly Increase Funding | e) Law enforcement |
| Maintain Funding Status | f) Transportation and Highway infrastructure |
| Greatly Decrease Funding | g) Welfare |
| h) Other | |
State Taxes: Indicate the tax levels you will support. | |
| Maintain Status | a) Alcohol taxes |
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes |
| Greatly Decrease | c) Corporate taxes |
| Maintain Status | d) Gasoline taxes |
| Eliminate | e) Inheritance taxes |
| Slightly Decrease | f) Property taxes |
| Slightly Increase | g) Sales taxes |
| Maintain Status | h) Vehicle taxes |
| i) Other | |
| No | j) Should Internet sales be taxed? |
| Yes | k) Would you support returning any operating surplus to Texas taxpayers? |
| Yes | l) Would you support placing any operating surplus into a "rainy day" fund? |
| m) Other | |
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. | |
| X | b) Support contracting with private sector firms to build and/or manage state prisons. |
| X | c) End parole for repeat violent offenders. |
| X | d) Support the use of the death penalty in Texas. |
| e) Support a moratorium on the death penalty. | |
| f) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders. | |
| X | g) Inform communities when a convicted sex offender moves into the community. |
| h) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released. | |
| i) Decriminalize the use of marijuana for medicinal purposes. | |
| j) Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes. | |
| X | k) Support .08 blood-alcohol-content limit defining drunk driving. |
| X | l) Prosecute as adults, youths accused of a felony. |
| X | m) Increase penalties for crimes committed on school grounds. |
| n) Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, or disability be prosecuted as hate crimes. | |
| o) Support programs that provide job training and placement services for at-risk youth. | |
| X | p) Ban the use of racial profiling by law enforcement officers. |
| q) Increase funding to the State Counsel for Offenders, which provides defense lawyers for prison inmates. | |
| r) Maintain a statewide database of suspected street gang members. | |
| s) Other | |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education. | |
| a) Increase state funds for professional development of public school teachers and administrators. | |
| X | b) Encourage private or corporate investment in public school programs. |
| c) Provide parents with state-funded vouchers to send their children to any participating school (public, private, religious). | |
| X | d) Support charter schools where teachers and professionals receive authorization and funding to establish new schools. |
| e) Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure). | |
| f) Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers. | |
| X | g) Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools. |
| X | h) Support posting the Ten Commandments in public schools. |
| X | i) Require public schools to administer high school exit exams. |
| j) Support national standards and testing of public school students. | |
| X | k) Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay. |
| l) Implement state-funded health insurance for teachers. | |
| m) Increase state funds to school districts for a state-ordered teacher pay raise. | |
| X | n) Require limited-English students to pass a reading proficiency test in English before being promoted. |
| X | o) Require limited-English students to pass the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills before being promoted. |
| p) Other | |
Employment: Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning employment. | |
| X | a) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses. |
| X | b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector to encourage investment and economic expansion. |
| X | c) Support limits on cash damages in lawsuits against businesses and professionals for product liability or malpractice. |
| d) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market. | |
| e) Other | |
Affirmative Action: Which of the following state agencies should take race and sex into account when making employment decisions? | |
| No | a) College and university admissions |
| No | b) Public employment |
| No | c) State contracting |
| d) Other | |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding the environment and energy. | |
| X | a) Encourage further development and use of alternative fuels to reduce pollution. |
| X | b) Support "self-audit" legislation which creates incentives for industries to audit themselves and clean up pollution. |
| X | c) Require a cost/benefit analysis to determine the economic impact of proposed environmental regulations before they are implemented. |
| X | d) Require states to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses on privately owned land. |
| e) Support funding for recycling programs in Texas. | |
| X | f) Request added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environmental regulations. |
| X | g) Suspend participation in un-funded, federally-mandated environmental protection legislation. |
| h) Eliminate grand-father status for all industrial facilities currently exempt from state environmental standards. | |
| i) Increase state spending on mass transportation projects. | |
| j) Support state mandated restrictions on cities that fail to comply with EPA clean air standards. | |
| k) Implement GARVEE, Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicles, bonds for state road projects. | |
| l) Allocate state funds for water and wastewater infrastructure programs along the Texas-Mexico border. | |
| m) Allocate state funds for pollution reduction programs along the Texas-Mexico border. | |
| n) Other | |
| No | o) Should state environmental regulations be stricter than federal law? |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding government reform. | |
| No | a) Do you support limiting the number of terms for Texas Governors? |
| No | b) Do you support limiting the number of terms for Texas State Senators and Representatives? |
c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates? | |
| No | a) Individual |
| No | b) PAC |
| No | c) Corporate |
| No | d) Political Parties |
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? |
| No | e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns? |
| No | f) Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns? |
| Undecided | g) Do you support voting on-line? |
| No | h) Do you support on-line voter registration? |
| No | i) Do you support requiring that campaign contributors' names, addresses, and contribution amounts be posted on the Internet? |
| j) Other | |
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. | |
| 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. | |
| X | 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 of gun buyers at gun shows. | |
| h) Require a license for gun possession. | |
| i) Other | |
| Yes | j) Do you support prohibiting Texas cities and counties from suing gun or ammunition manufacturers for damages? |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding health issues. | |
| X | a) Provide tax incentives to small businesses that provide health care to their employees. |
| b) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care where necessary. | |
| X | c) Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs. |
| d) Use state funds to continue some Medicaid coverage for legal immigrants. | |
| X | e) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. |
| f) Support a patient's right to sue his or her HMO. | |
| X | g) Support a patient's right to appeal to an administrative board of specialists when services are denied. |
| X | h) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government. |
| i) Other | |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding social issues. | |
| X | a) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees. |
| b) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families. | |
| X | c) Deny or suspend state-issued permits and licenses to parents who are delinquent in paying court-ordered child support. |
| d) Increase state funding for Head Start in order to serve additional children and/or increase services from a half to a full day. | |
| e) Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth. | |
| f) Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans, and job training and placement. | |
| g) Other | |
| No | h) Should physician assisted suicide be legally available in Texas? |
| No | i) Should Texas include sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination laws? |
| No | j) Should Texas recognize civil unions between same-sex couples? |
| Yes | k) Should Texas restrict marriage to a relationship only between a man and a woman? |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding welfare. | |
| a) Maintain current time limits on welfare benefits. | |
| X | b) Maintain the requirement that able-bodied recipients work in order to receive benefits. |
| c) Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients. | |
| X | d) Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients. |
| e) Provide child care for welfare recipients who work. | |
| X | f) Increase access to public transportation for welfare recipients who work. |
| g) Allow welfare recipients to remain eligible for benefits while saving money for education, starting a business, or buying a home. | |
| X | h) Limit benefits given to recipients if they have additional children while on welfare. |
| i) Eliminate government-funded welfare programs. | |
| X | j) Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations. |
| k) Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to expand state services to include the working poor. | |
| l) Other | |
| 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. | |
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