2000 Presidential National Political Awareness Test Results
Results for Virginia Strom-Martin:
Virginia Strom-Martin did the right and honorable thing by providing citizens with the essential issue information requested in the National Political Awareness Test.
The test provides voters with information regarding his intentions in 17 issue areas. Project Vote Smart is being supported in this program by dozens of news media organizations including:
CNN, FOX, MTV, C-SPAN, NBC, Washington Week in Review, Knight-Ridder News Service, Washington Post.com, National Journal, Des Moines Register, and Manchester Union Leader.
Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning abortion.
X | a) Abortions should always be illegal. | ||
X | b) Abortions should always be legally available. | ||
c) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy. | |||
X | d) Abortions should be legal when pregnancy results from incest, rape or the life of the woman is endangered. | ||
e) Abortions should be limited by waiting periods and notification requirements as decided by each state government. | |||
f) Prohibit the dilation and extraction procedure, also known as "partial-birth" abortion. | |||
X | g) Support "buffer zones" at abortion clinics by requiring demonstrators to remain a certain distance from doorways and driveways. | ||
h) Prohibit public funding for abortions and organizations that advocate or perform abortions. | |||
i) Other |
State Budget: Indicate the funding levels you will support for the following general categories.State Taxes: Indicate the tax levels you will support.
Greatly Increase Funding | a) Education (Higher) | ||
Greatly Increase Funding | b) Education (K-12) | ||
Greatly Increase Funding | c) Environment | ||
Greatly Increase Funding | d) Health care | ||
Greatly Increase Funding | e) Law enforcement | ||
Greatly Increase Funding | f) Transportation and Highway infrastructure | ||
Greatly Increase Funding | g) Welfare | ||
h) Other | |||
Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
Maintain Status | b) Capital gains taxes | ||
Slightly Increase | c) Cigarette taxes | ||
Slightly Increase | d) Corporate taxes | ||
Maintain Status | e) Gasoline taxes | ||
Slightly Decrease | f) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000) | ||
Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000) | ||
Slightly Decrease | h) Inheritance taxes | ||
Maintain Status | i) Property taxes | ||
Maintain Status | j) Sales taxes | ||
k) Vehicle taxes | |||
l) Other | |||
Undecided | m) Should Internet sales be taxed? | ||
No | n) Do you support a flat tax structure for state income taxes? | ||
Yes | o) Would you support returning any operating surplus as a refund to state income tax payers? | ||
Yes | p) Would you support returning any operating surplus as a sales tax rebate? | ||
Yes | q) Would you support placing any operating surplus into a "rainy day" fund? | ||
r) 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. | |||
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 California. | ||
e) Support a moratorium on the death penalty. | |||
X | f) Implement penalties other than incarceration for certain non-violent offenders. | ||
X | g) Inform communities when a convicted sex offender moves into the community. | ||
X | h) Support programs to provide prison inmates with vocational and job-related skills and job-placement assistance when released. | ||
X | 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. | ||
l) Prosecute as adults, youths accused of a felony. | |||
m) Increase penalties for crimes committed on school grounds. | |||
X | n) Require that crimes based on gender, sexual orientation, or disability be prosecuted as hate crimes. | ||
X | 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. | ||
X | q) Amend the three-strikes law to be applied only when the third offense is a serious or violent felony. | ||
X | r) Create courts for mentally ill criminal offenders where different types of treatment can be offered. | ||
s) Other |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.
X | 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. | ||
X | e) Increase state funds for school capital improvements (e.g. buildings and infrastructure). | ||
X | f) Increase state funds for hiring additional teachers. | ||
g) Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools. | |||
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. | |||
k) Support teacher testing and reward teachers with merit pay. | |||
X | l) Provide state funding to increase teacher salaries. | ||
X | m) Provide state funding for forgivable home loans to teachers who work in low-performing schools. | ||
X | n) Increase state funds to provide more counselors trained in conflict resolution for public elementary and middle-schools. | ||
X | o) Increase state funds for per-pupil expenditures at public schools to match at least the national average. | ||
p) Require K-12 classes to have no more than 20 students per teacher. | |||
q) Amend the California Constitution to require one minute of silence, where students can choose whether to pray. | |||
X | r) Amend the California Constitution to require a simple majority vote for local school bonds to pass (currently requires two-thirds majority). | ||
s) Other |
Employment: Indicate which principles you support concerning employment.Affirmative Action: Which of the following state agencies should take race and sex into account when making employment decisions?
X | a) Provide low interest loans and tax credits for starting, expanding, or relocating businesses. | ||
b) Reduce state government regulations on the private sector to encourage investment and economic expansion. | |||
c) Support limits on cash damages in lawsuits against businesses and professionals for product liability or malpractice. | |||
X | d) Increase funding for state job-training programs that re-train displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market. | ||
e) Other | |||
Yes | a) College and university admissions | ||
Yes | b) Public employment | ||
Yes | 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. | ||
d) Require states to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses on privately owned land. | |||
X | e) Support funding for recycling programs in California. | ||
X | f) Request added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environmental regulations. | ||
g) Suspend participation in un-funded, federally-mandated environmental protection legislation. | |||
X | h) Require no-cut buffer zones on logging around streams to protect coho salmon. | ||
X | i) Require offshore oil clean-up companies to conduct self-funded tests on their clean-up operations. | ||
X | j) Require landowners to establish buffer zones between areas where they use the pesticide methyl bromide and neighboring land. | ||
X | k) Increase allocation of state public works funds to city and county governments for local public works projects. | ||
X | l) Increase funds for mass transit. | ||
X | m) Amend the California Constitution to require a simple majority vote by local communities to increase sales taxes for transportation projects (currently requires two-thirds majority). | ||
X | n) Require that all revenues generated by the state sales tax on gasoline be allocated to transportation projects. | ||
o) Other | |||
Yes | p) Should state environmental regulations be stricter than federal law? | ||
Yes | q) Should state government regulate urban growth? |
Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding government reform.c) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?
Yes | a) Do you support the current limit on terms for California Governors? | ||
No | b) Do you support the current limit on terms for California State Senators and Assembly members? | ||
Yes | a) Individual | ||
Yes | b) PAC | ||
Yes | c) Corporate | ||
Yes | d) Political Parties | ||
Yes | d) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
Yes | e) Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns? | ||
Yes | f) Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns? | ||
Yes | g) Do you support voting on-line? | ||
Yes | h) Do you support on-line voter registration? | ||
No | i) Do you support removing the redistricting process from the state legislature? | ||
No | j) Do you support California's "blanket" primary system? | ||
Yes | k) Do you support creating a state holiday honoring Cesar Chavez? | ||
l) 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. | |||
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. | |||
e) Allow citizens to carry concealed guns. | |||
X | f) Require manufacturers to provide child-safety locks on guns. | ||
X | g) Require background checks of gun buyers at gun shows. | ||
h) Require a license for gun possession. | |||
i) Amend the California Constitution to state that citizens have the right to keep and bear arms in defense of self, family and home. | |||
j) Other |
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. | ||
X | b) Ensure that citizens have access to basic health care through managed care, insurance reforms, or state funded care where necessary. | ||
c) Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs. | |||
X | 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. | ||
X | 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. | ||
h) Guaranteed medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government. | |||
X | i) Prohibit HMOs from requiring members to agree to go to mandatory binding arbitration for medical disputes. | ||
X | j) Raise Medi-Cal reimbursements to match those of Medicare. | ||
X | k) Extend unpaid leave to allow employees to take care of seriously ill domestic partners. | ||
l) 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. | ||
X | b) Increase state funds to provide child care for children in low-income working families. | ||
c) Deny or suspend state-issued permits and licenses to parents who are delinquent in paying court-ordered child support. | |||
X | d) Increase state funding for Head Start in order to serve additional children and/or increase services from a half to a full day. | ||
X | e) Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth. | ||
X | f) Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans, and job training and placement. | ||
X | g) Allow same-sex couples to inherit property if one partner dies without a will. | ||
h) Prohibit colleges, health care providers, and employers from using an individual's social security number as an identifier. | |||
i) Other | |||
Yes | j) Should physician assisted suicide be legally available in California? | ||
Yes | k) Should California include sexual orientation in its anti-discrimination laws? | ||
Yes | l) Should California recognize civil unions between same-sex couples? | ||
No | m) Should California 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. | ||
X | c) Increase employment and job training programs for welfare recipients. | ||
X | d) Provide tax incentives to businesses that hire welfare recipients. | ||
X | 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. | |||
h) Limit benefits given to recipients if they have additional children while on welfare. | |||
i) Eliminate government-funded welfare programs. | |||
j) Redirect welfare funding to faith-based and community-based private organizations. | |||
X | k) Use federal TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) funds to expand state services to include the working poor. | ||
l) Reduce benefits to CalWORKS recipients who fail to work or train for a job. | |||
m) Other |
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