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Brad Jones, Jr.'s Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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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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Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.

Brad Jones, Jr. did not provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2022 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.

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.

Massachusetts State Legislative Election 1998 National Political Awareness Test

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.

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

a) Abortions should always be legally available.
b) Abortions should be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy.
c) Abortions should be legal only when pregnancy resulted from incest, rape, or when the life of the woman is endangered.
d) Abortions should be legal only when the life of the woman is endangered.
e) Abortions should always be illegal.
X f) Abortions should be limited by waiting periods and parental notification requirements.
X g) Prohibit the late-term abortion procedure known as "partial-birth" abortion.
X h) Support "buffer zones" by requiring demonstrators to stay at least 25 feet away from abortion clinic doorways and driveways.
i) Other
j) Should Massachusetts government funding be provided to clinics and medical facilities that provide abortion services?

Indicate the principles you support (if any) concerning affirmative action. State government agencies should take race and sex into account in the following sectors:

Undecided a) College and university admissions
Undecided b) Public employment
Undecided c) State contracting
d) Other

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

X 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.
c) End parole for repeat violent felons.
X d) Support the use of the death penalty.
e) Oppose 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) Increase state funds for programs which rehabilitate and educate inmates during and after their prison sentences.
i) Strengthen penalties and sentences for drug-related crimes.
X j) Strengthen penalties and sentences for sex offenders.
k) Lower the blood-alcohol-content limit defining drunk driving.
X l) Prosecute juveniles who commit murder or other serious violent crimes as adults.
m) Other

Indicate which principles you support (if any) concerning the economy and 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 in order 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 retrain displaced workers or teach skills needed in today's job market.
e) Prohibit banks from charging customers an extra fee if they use an automatic teller machine outside the bank's network.
f) Base auto insurance rates on a driver's safety record rather than place of residence.
g) Increase the minimum wage.
h) Eliminate tolls on Massachusetts' roads and bridges.
i) Support building a commuter rail line from Boston to Fall River and New Bedford.
j) Expand casino gambling in Massachusetts.
k) Support public financing of stadiums and sports arenas in Massachusetts.
l) Other

1. Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding education.2. Indicate the principles you support (if any) regarding teacher education and certification.

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).
d) Favor charter schools where independent groups receive state authorization and funding to establish new schools.
X e) Support sex education programs which stress abstinence.
f) Support sex education programs which stress safe sexual practices.
X g) Increase state funds for school construction and facility maintenance.
h) Increase state funds for hiring of additional teachers.
i) Endorse teacher-led voluntary prayer in public schools.
X j) Allow teenagers to get their driver's license only if their school attendance is satisfactory.
k) Other
X a) Raise the minimum SAT scores for entrance to teacher education programs in colleges and universities.
X b) Require prospective teachers to pass the basic skills portion of the state teacher test by the end of their sophomore year in college.
X c) Close down teacher education programs in colleges and universities where fewer than 80 percent of students are able to pass teacher certification tests for two consecutive years.
d) Require standardized testing of current teachers and penalties for those who do not pass.
e) Other

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

a) Require the use of cleaner burning fuels in order to prevent pollution.
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 the state to fully compensate citizens when environmental regulations limit uses on privately owned land.
e) Provide funding for recycling programs in Massachusetts.
f) Request added flexibility from the federal government in enforcing and funding federal environmental regulations.
g) Suspend participation in unfunded, federally mandated environmental protection legislation.
h) Other
i) State environmental regulations should not be stricter than federal law.
j) Do you support repealing Massachusetts' electric deregulation law?

Indicate which principles you support (if any) regarding government reform.a) Do you support limits on the number of terms of the following Massachusetts officials?b) Do you support limiting the following types of contributions to state legislative candidates?

No 1) State Senators and Representatives
No 2) Governor
Yes 1) Individual
Yes 2) PAC
Yes 3) Corporate
Yes c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information?
No d) Do you support imposing spending limits on state level political campaigns?
No e) Do you support partial funding from state taxes for state level political campaigns?
Yes f) Would you vote to ratify an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requiring an annual balanced federal budget?
No g) Do you believe state legislators' salaries should be tied to fluctuations in the state's average household income?
h) Other

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

a) Prohibit the sale or resale of assault weapons manufactured before 1994.
b) Increase state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
c) Maintain state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
X d) Ease state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms.
X e) Repeal state restrictions on the purchase and possession of firearms by law-abiding citizens.
f) Favor allowing citizens to carry concealed firearms.
g) 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.
X c) Support funding for MassHealth, which provides health care to uninsured children and pregnant women.
d) Transfer more existing Medicaid recipients into managed care programs.
e) Use state funds to continue some Medicaid coverage for legal immigrants.
X f) Limit the amount of damages that can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits.
g) Guaranteeing medical care to all citizens is not a responsibility of state government.
h) Create an appeals process for patients whose HMOs have rejected certain medical procedures.
i) Support a temporary moratorium on takeovers of nonprofit hospitals by for-profit corporations.
X j) Provide increased state financial assistance to seniors and the disabled to allow them access to home and community-based health care.
k) Require that people with mental illness are treated the same as those with physical problems for insurance purposes.
l) Allow health care benefits to be extended to domestic partners in both same-sex and opposite-sex couples.
m) Allow the use of marijuana in the treatment of AIDS.
n) Other

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

a) Increase state funding for programs to prevent teen pregnancy.
X b) Provide tax credits for businesses that provide child care for their employees.
c) Increase state funds to provide child care to children in low-income working families.
X d) Deny or suspend state-issued permits and licenses to parents who are delinquent in paying court-ordered child support.
e) Favor banning smoking in public places.
f) Increase state funding for Head Start in order to serve additional children and/or increase services from a half to a full day.
g) Increase state funding for community centers and other social agencies in areas with at-risk youth.
h) Support state funding of programs for at-risk youth such as guaranteed college loans and job training and placement.
i) Increase state funding for adult literacy programs.
j) Other
No k) Do you believe that the Massachusetts government should recognize same-sex marriages?
Undecided l) Do you believe that the Massachusetts government should include sexual orientation in Massachusetts' anti-discrimination laws?

1. Indicate the funding levels you will support for the following general categories. Select one level only.2. Indicate the options you support (if any) regarding Massachusetts' budget surplus.

Slightly Increase a) Education (K-12)
Maintain Status b) Education (Higher)
Maintain Status c) Environment
Slightly Increase d) Health care
Slightly Increase e) Law enforcement
Slightly Increase f) Transportation infrastructure (highways, roads, bridges)
Maintain Status g) Welfare
h) Other
a) Provide tax refunds to Massachusetts residents who paid state income taxes.
b) Support broad-based tax refunds to all Massachusetts residents.
c) Provide a one-time reduction in state taxes.
X d) Lower the income tax rate.
e) Increase the standard deduction.
X f) Allow the state to spend part of the budget surplus to meet state priorities.
g) Allow the state to spend all of the budget surplus to meet state priorities.
X h) Use part of the budget surplus to reduce the state debt.
i) Other

Indicate the tax levels you will support. Select one level only.

Slightly Decrease a) Auto excise taxes
Maintain Status b) Alcohol taxes
Eliminate c) Capital gains taxes
Slightly Increase d) Cigarette taxes
Maintain Status e) Corporate taxes
Maintain Status f) Gas taxes
Slightly Decrease g) Income taxes (incomes below $75,000)
Slightly Decrease h) Income taxes (incomes above $75,000)
Eliminate i) Sales taxes
j) Other
Yes k) Do you support a flat tax structure for state income taxes?
Yes l) Would you support a state tax credit for families who support older relatives in their homes?

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

X a) Maintain the five-year lifetime limit on welfare benefits.
X b) Require that able-bodied recipients participate in work activities 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.
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.
j) 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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