John Esp's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State Senate (MT) - District 30, Republican
Key
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John Esp 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.
Montana State Legislative Election 2018 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Should abortion be legal 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: | |||
Budget Stabilization:Indicate which proposals you support (if any) for balancing Montana's budget.
| a) Reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | |||
| Yes | b) Instituting mandatory furloughs AND/OR layoffs for state employees? | ||
| c) Reducing benefits for Medicaid recipients? | |||
| No | d) An income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| No | e) Eliminating block grants to public school districts? | ||
| f) Decreasing funding to the Montana Department of Health and Human Services? | |||
| Instituting work requirements and asset tests for able-bodied adults on Medicaid. I would support changing pension benefits for newly hired state workers. These questions are posed long before you have the real time information to make reasoned judgments about the budget. That will probably not happen until the last part of April, 2019. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support any limits on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| 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? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| I support transparency in campaign finance. I just want to know who's paying for the ad and/or contributing to a candidate. | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the legalization of marijuana for recreational purposes? | ||
| c) Should a minor accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | |||
| Yes | d) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| A 16 or 17 year old minor accused of a violent crime could be prosecuted as an adult in some cases. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing state government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding access to unemployment benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Montana? | ||
| I support any automatic minimum wage increases already in Montana or federal law. | |||
| a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Montana? | |||
| b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | |||
| No | c) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Montana high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| I support existing tax credits for private school students. I'm unfamiliar with any federal education standards we do not adhere to. I think immigrants that have begun a legal path to either citizenship or a visa could be allowed to get in-state tuition if they were educated in a Montana high school. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support state government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | |||
| I support the programs that build pipelines and water systems to bring clean water to communities. Most regulation in this area will add to consumer's utility costs. | |||
| 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? | ||
| No | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| Some teachers if properly trained could be part of a resource officer presence in the school. | |||
| a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | |||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Montana's health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| 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? | ||
| f) Do you support increasing state funding for tracking and reporting opioid usage and overdoses? | |||
| Government should fund some drug treatment programs for all drug abuse not just opioid abuse. Medicaid Expansion should have an enforceable work requirement and a reasonable asset test to qualify for benefits. I'm in support of very limited vaccination exemptions. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Montana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Montana's anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| c) Do you support greater efforts by Montana state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | |||
| d) Should individuals be required to use a bathroom that corresponds with the gender listed on their birth certificate? | |||
| I think government should stay out of all 4 of these areas. | |||
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