Judy Barnett's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
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.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
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.
Judy Barnett has provided voters with clear stances on key issues by responding to the 2016 Political Courage Test.
Tennessee State Legislative Election 2016 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should abortions be illegal after 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? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring parental notification before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring parental consent before an abortion is performed on a minor? | ||
| No | g) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for abortion procedures? | ||
| No | h) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| Abortion is legal in the United States. I would never force any girl or woman to have an abortion. But if a girl or woman did not want to be pregnant, I see no reason to make it more stressful than it is to make such a decision. | |||
1) Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Tennessee's budget.2) 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.3) 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.
| Yes | a) Tapping into Tennessee's "rainy day" fund | ||
| No | b) Decreasing funding for public universities | ||
| No | c) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions | ||
| Yes | d) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees | ||
| No | e) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients | ||
| Greatly Increase | a) Education (higher) | ||
| Greatly Increase | b) Education (K-12) | ||
| Greatly Increase | c) Environment | ||
| Greatly Increase | d) Health care | ||
| Greatly Increase | e) Law enforcement/corrections | ||
| Greatly Increase | f) Transportation/infrastructure | ||
| Greatly Increase | g) Welfare | ||
| Slightly Increase | a) Alcohol taxes | ||
| Maintain Status | b) Cigarette taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | c) Corporate taxes | ||
| Greatly Decrease | d) Small business taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | e) Gas/Oil taxes | ||
| Slightly Increase | f) Property taxes | ||
| Slightly Decrease | g) Sales taxes | ||
| Eliminate | h) Income taxes (low-income families) | ||
| Eliminate | i) Income taxes (mid-income families) | ||
| Slightly Increase | j) Income taxes (high-income families) | ||
| Yes | k) Do you support applying sales taxes to all online purchases? | ||
| I do not support efforts to cut state revenue by repealing different taxes. I do not believe that budgets should be balanced on the back of working class citizens. I do not believe that there should be a healthcare coverage gap when funds are available from the federal government to help Tennessee pay for these expenses. | |||
| I believe in everyone paying their fair share of taxes. I believe that Tennesseans should be first in many areas not just in our savings account, the Rainy Day Fund and in our credit rating. | |||
| I would cut sales tax on groceries. It would save families some money and there would be no need to travel across state lines in order to avoid the tax. Our legislators are letting our roads and infrastructure deteriorate because they do not want to raise the gas tax. Everything is being done to keep the electorate voting for the status quo rather than taking care of the business of protecting and enhancing the state and its responsibilities. We have turned to privatization rather than spending state money to care for our buildings and parks. | |||
a) Do you support limits on the following types of contributions for state candidates?
| Yes | 1) Individual | ||
| Yes | 2) Political Action Committee | ||
| Yes | 3) Corporate | ||
| Yes | 4) Political Party | ||
| Yes | b) Should candidates for state office be encouraged to meet voluntary spending limits? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring full and timely disclosure of campaign finance information? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | e) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| There is no evidence that people are voting more than once, we have enough trouble getting registered voters to the polls. There should be a federal database so that when you change your address your voter registration automatically changes as well. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support legalizing the possession of small amounts of marijuana? | ||
| No | d) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | e) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support delaying the seizure of assets by law enforcement officials until after a conviction? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support additional funding for programs intended to reduce drug addiction in Tennessee? | ||
| I believe we must find a way to make the criminal justice system work for everyone, which includes people who don't have the resources to pay their bail. We need to spend more money on public defenders so that everyone has a chance at a fair trail and no one needs to take a plea bargain if they are not guilty. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | b) Do you support lowering taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| No | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support increased state funding for job-training programs that re-train displaced workers? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | g) Do you support providing financial incentives to the private sector for the purpose of job creation? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support providing direct financial assistance to homeowners facing foreclosure? | ||
| Yes | i) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage? | ||
| No | j) Should employers be able to ask about applicants' criminal history before interviewing them? | ||
| The governments job is to promote the general welfare. This requires understanding and helping when necessary. The minimum wage has not kept up with increases in the costs of living. It needs to be raised so that workers will not need to the government for rent and food stamps while working a full time job. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the national Common Core State Standards initiative? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support a merit pay system for teachers? | ||
| Yes | c) Is the tenure process for public school teachers producing effective teachers? | ||
| No | d) Should parents be allowed to use vouchers to send their children to any school? | ||
| No | 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 Tennessee high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| A well-educated population will increase productivity and creative ideas both of which will benefit the country. We should not blame our teachers for their students inability to learn. We must help prepare children for learning by beginning appropriate learning as early in childhood as possible. Poor children need more help because they do not have the benefits which exist in wealthier homes. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for the development of traditional domestic energy sources (e.g. coal, natural gas, oil)? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support state funding for improvements to Tennessee's energy infrastructure? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support state funding for open space preservation? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support increased regulations of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") industry? | ||
| Just because someone can make money from fracking does not make it good for the country, for the people in the area where it is taking place. Regulations help protect and are important to the general welfare. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| No | c) Should citizens be allowed to carry concealed guns? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun possession? | ||
| No | e) Do you support allowing concealed carry on public college campuses in Tennessee? | ||
| I don't think an armed population makes a safer world. I realize that gun control does not keep guns out of the hands of criminals but there are too many gun 'accidents'. It is a sad commentary about a culture that so many people feel the need to be armed at all times. | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act ("Obamacare")? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| No | f) Do you support monetary limits on damages that can be collected in malpractice lawsuits? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support allowing doctors to prescribe marijuana to their patients for medicinal purposes? | ||
| Healthcare should be available for everyone who needs it. We should all be covered for all our medical needs, eye care, dental care and of course, prescriptions. Medicare type is better than nothing but having to have additional insurance makes it difficult for many to afford. The cost through the government should be much less than it ever was through for-profit insurance companies, and what does it matter who collects the money as long as you get the coverage. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support same-sex marriage? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Tennessee's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Tennessee's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| I do not see the purpose of providing scapegoats for people's hatred. People do not choose to be different and why would we make it harder for anyone to enjoy their life as best they can. | |||
| Expansion of Health care. If done through "insure Tennessee' or the Affordable Care Act, the money from the Feds will save Tennessee money. Eliminate sales tax on groceries. Do not repeal the Hall Tax, reinstate the Estate Tax. Which would actually help Tennesseans who have actually seen their federal taxes increase because they lost the deduction of the tax which they were no longer paying to Tennessee. Increase the minimum wage which would save the state money as working people would be able to support themselves on the money they earned. No need for food stamps or rent support. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.