Anne Donahue's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (VT) - Washington-1, Republican
Key
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Anne Donahue 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.
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.
Vermont State Legislative Election 2010 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you consider yourself pro-choice or pro-life? | ||
| b) Should abortion be legal only within the first trimester of pregnancy? | |||
| No | c) Should abortion be legal when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| d) Should abortion be legal when the life of the woman is endangered? | |||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support sexual education programs that include information on abstinence, contraceptives, and HIV/STD prevention methods? | ||
| No | h) Do you support abstinence-only sexual education programs? | ||
| b) uses "only" -- can't be answered yes/no; I do not believe abortion should be legal in the first three trimesters d) "endangered" is broadly interpreted to mean different things. I believe that if the life of the mother is in danger, every effort must be made to save both lives; at times, these action could result in knowing the infant may not survive (e.g., too premature), but actions for the deliberate purpose of causing the death of either should not be legal. I recognize current law, and would not act in futile measures to change it. | |||
1) State SpendingIndicate 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.2) State TaxesIndicate 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.3) Budget StabilizationIndicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Vermont's budget.
| Slightly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Slightly Decrease | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Environment | ||
| Slightly Decrease | d) Health care | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Law enforcement | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Transportation and highway infrastructure | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | d) Gasoline taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | e) Property taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | f) Sales taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | g) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | h) Income taxes (middle-income families) | ||
| Maintain Status | i) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| No | a) Tapping into Vermont's "rainy day" fund | ||
| Yes | b) Issuing the early release of certain non-violent offenders | ||
| No | c) Increasing tuition rates at public universities | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs and layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Yes | f) Privatizing certain government services | ||
| Health care in Vermont includes some very solid initiatives, and some that are simply adding to costs without demonstrated benefit. I would cut back strategically as part of broader reform. An increase, for example, is needed to fully fund the true costs of Medicaid as well as to manage the care better, reducing the cost shift. | |||
| I strongly support an ignored tax category that would benefit health as well as state revenue: a junk food tax. | |||
| b) I would not go beyond the current, ambitious effort as passed into law this year without evaluating its savings and outcomes. d) furloughs where essential, preferred by far to layoffs f) only under a clear showing of actual cost savings, and a preference hiring mechanism for state employees who lose jobs as a result | |||
d) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions to candidates for state government?
| Yes | a) Do you support the use of instant runoff voting for Vermont elections? | ||
| No | b) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Vermont governors? | ||
| No | c) Do you support limits on the number of terms for Vermont state legislators? | ||
| No | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| No | e) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| regarding b) -- it would be much more important to lengthen the term length; a two-year term is highly detrimental c) Vermont's House currently has a very good blend of short service (new ideas), interim length, and long term (crucial for "instutional memory") d) if limits are too low in any of these categories, it gives an unfair advantage to incumbents, who do not always need to raise as much, given existing name recognition; it ties the hands of a newcomer who needs to raise more to get an equal footing. | |||
| No | 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? | ||
| No | c) Should the possession of small amounts of marijuana be decriminalized? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Should a minor who sends sexually-explicit or nude photos by cell phone face criminal charges? | ||
| No | f) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| a) we don't teach to not kill by killing, but in some situations, life must be truly absolute and not with any potential for release c) penalties should be minimal, but remain misdemeanors d) Vermont charges virtually all 16 and over as adults; this should be reversed, but a judicial opt-up be available for second offenses, felonies, and all violent acts. e) Vermont handled this well last term by making it a non-criminal offense | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | b) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| No | c) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| No | e) Do you support increased spending on infrastructure projects for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| b) in theory yes, but not in place of limited priorities for current available funding c) Vermont has extremely liberal access; some eligibility categories need to be tightened d) not increased from crrent program e) not for job creation purposes; the skill set is too narrow in terms of ongoing employability f) on a limited basis, for example when there is evidence of a person being misled into believing their income could support a mortgage | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support national education standards? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support consolidating Vermont's school districts? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring public schools to administer high school exit exams? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support using a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the state government providing college students with financial aid? | ||
| Yes | g) Should illegal immigrants who graduate from Vermont high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| b) in a broad dialogue to build consensus about how and why -- not a blanket legislative mandate d) with a long way to go in dialogue in how and whether it would achieve its goals | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of alternative energy? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| No | c) Do you support providing financial incentives to farms that produce biofuel crops? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for improvements to Vermont's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| No | f) Do you support enacting environmental regulations aimed at reducing the effects of climate change? | ||
| both e and f -- I support the very strong initiatives we currently have in these areas. I do not think we can afford to expand the "current use" property tax protection for undeveloped space beyond the current acreage; we do not need to enact more expanded environmental regulations | |||
| No | a) Do you support restrictions on the purchase and possession of guns? | ||
| No | 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 | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support a universally-accessible, publicly-administered health insurance option? | ||
| No | b) Do you support expanding access to health care through commercial health insurance reform? | ||
| No | c) Do you support interstate health insurance compacts? | ||
| No | d) Should individuals be required to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | 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 Vermont? | ||
| No | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| a) In concept, yes. It would require huge change in expectations of health care, not likely to be achievable. I do not think it is viable for a state on its own.) b) Employment-based model has outlived its usefulness. c) If it means products being available in Vermont without our protections, no. g) The key problem term here is "prescribe." I helped create Vermont's law, which bars prosecution if verified by a doctor on a specific list of ailments. This neither calls it "medicinal", nor makes doctors' actions illegal federally. It allows the outcome for persons to access symptom relief. | |||
| No | a) Should marriage only be between one man and one woman? | ||
| Yes | b) Should Vermont continue to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for stem cell research? | ||
| No | d) Do you support state funding for embryonic stem cell research? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support the state's use of affirmative action? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Vermont's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| An important clarification to a) and b): I proposed a revision, accepted in committee, to change the language related to marriage, to "civil marriage." The purpose was to clarify that the state should not be permitted to discriminate against same-sex couples in terms of the state's legitimate interests in civil marriage. However, since the same word has been used in the religious connotation, I wanted it to be clear that the law did not impose any restriction on the right to practice one's religion, including a faith group's own interpretation of what relationships are recognized for purposes of 'marriage.' | |||
| 1. Balance the budget, and reduce property taxes through more efficient school spending (including in particular classroom size in upper grades.) 2. Address the health care cost shift, which drives up private premiums in a hidden way. Replace it with direct funding in an income tax offset that would make sources of health care funding transparant, as a first step of education on overutilization. Stop adding new costs with untested benefits. 3. Address a state energy policy that brings renewable resources more strongly into the mix, but without "all or nothing" additudes towards our options. |
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