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Adrienne Southworth's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)

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Candidates who qualify will be invited to take the 2024 Political Courage Test.

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.

Kentucky State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test

Pro-life a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation?
No b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape?
Yes c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions?
d) Other or expanded principles:
No a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions?
No b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket?
c) Should local governments be able to levy taxes?
d) Other or expanded principles:
No a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates?
Yes b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions?
c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting?
d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls?
e) Do you support automatic voter registration?
I am huge on non-political redistricting, however a commission appointed by political people ends up political regardless of its state purpose. We should do our jobs and be more subject to scrutiny if we turn political. Voter ID does not have to be photo to be secure. Any credit company can confirm. I support a voter ID to vote. Voter registration cannot be automatic in our country, because we get the right to vote as a citizen now as opposed to tax rolls. Citizenship requires no special paperwork as the Supreme Court has stated.
Yes a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes?
b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult?
c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police?
No d) Do you support the use of private prisons in Kentucky?
No e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders?
f) Should theft of under $1,000 be considered a misdemeanor?
g) Do you support the legalization of medicinal marijuana?
b) youth trial as an adult should always be decided on a case by case basis. Also, there is not one definition of "violent" crime, so that could use clarity as well. c) enforcing federal laws is not local law enforcement's job. Cooperation is helpful, but we cannot donate all our state resources for federal purposes. f) I oppose the current definitions of misdemeanor and felony, but I have supported this measure in the past as long as restitution is the focus. g) I support access to the plants God created without undue regulation.
No a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth?
Yes b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth?
Yes c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector?
d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits?
No e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Kentucky?
No f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave?
Yes g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19?
d) I am not convinced by the science of drug testing, nor enthusiastic about the costs. I do support measures to assure money is being spent correctly, but that could be achieved other ways. g) For the government-created problems, the government should be responsible to pay restitution to those they ruined.
No a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Kentucky?
b) Do you support state funding for charter schools?
Yes c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Kentucky?
d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Kentucky high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities?
e) Do you support prohibiting corporal punishment in all Kentucky schools?
b) We already have some state funding (SEEK) that follows the child rather than local taxes directly funding a single school. I would adjust that model but likely still retain a blend of funding sources. d) In-state tuition requires residence. If we cannot establish residence, then they would not be eligible. If we can establish residence, there is no question. e) I support strict discipline in schools.
No a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)?
No b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions?
c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives?
a) the state serves the people, not performing every task we'd like to have done. c) the state currently oversees drinking water quality, and there are problems inherent to any water system, so the nature of the initiatives would determine whether it was in the proper scope of jurisdiction for the state to participate or not.
No a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation?
No b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows?
Yes c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training?
No d) Should a license be required for gun ownership?
e) Other or expanded principles:
a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse?
No b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Kentucky's health care programs?
No c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance?
No d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia?
No e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations?
No f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19?
a) Treatment facilities have gone downhill in some ways since the 28-day reimbursement plan came out. That said, there are some areas of opioid abuse spending that are swimming in dollars they do not know what to do with. Funding is rarely the initial problem. I am committed to identifying the best solutions first, then carving out the required funds to make them happen in priority order.
No a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Kentucky's anti-discrimination laws?
No b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Kentucky's anti-discrimination laws?
No c) Do you support greater efforts by Kentucky state government in closing the pay gap between men and women?
No d) Do you support expanding anti-discrimination laws to include hair textures and protective hairstyles?
a) B) and d) We might as well not have anti-discrimination laws for listed items if we're going to list everything in existence. I would rather defer to the free market as much as possible. c) Even after supervising the office engaged in women's issues for several years, I still have not been presented a successful pay gap case by preponderance of the evidence. The government has limited purpose. It can help in certain ways, but often requires other types of responsibility to make things happen.
1) Protect our constitutional rights including life, liberty, property, and all the Amendments (1st, 2nd, 4th, etc) that are constantly in the crosshairs. 2) Reduce debt and change policy for grants and other restricted funds to free up funding for priority needs, such as the disastrously unfunded pension. 3) Invent smart solutions to eternal issues such as education, roads, redistricting, and the justice system to stop corruption, eliminate waste, and restore trust in the public services where our tax dollars are invested.
Refunding the Pension. Money disappeared from the pension fund. We have to scratch up every bit we have to pay this back so it's not a snowballing time-bomb. I have walked into too many meetings with top officials who ask, do I have any ideas for how to spend several million dollars fast? I would change policy so grant funds are not isolated to a single fiscal year so agencies could pay it forward instead of blowing it all at the end of the fiscal year. I would also redirect funds from bureaucracy into the classrooms for education/teacher pension specifically.

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