Donna Howard's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Office:
- State House (TX) - District 48, Democratic
On The Ballot: Running, Democratic for State House (TX) - District 48
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
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Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Donna Howard is currently being tested through the 2024 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.
Texas State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-choice | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| No | 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? | ||
| b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | |||
| No | c) In order to reduce property taxes, do you support increasing state sales taxes? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| No | f) Do you support partisan elections for judges? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| No | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | 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 Texas? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| No | f) Should law enforcement officers be allowed to arrest individuals for fine-only misdemeanors? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | |||
| c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | |||
| No | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Texas? | ||
| Yes | 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? | ||
| h) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Texas? | |||
| No | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Texas? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Texas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| 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 teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| Yes | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| e) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Texas' health care programs? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| Yes | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| Yes | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| g) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| Yes | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Texas' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Texas' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support greater efforts by Texas state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support expanding anti-discrimination laws to include hair textures and protective hairstyles? | ||
| No | e) Should state-licensed professionals be able to deny services based on their religious beliefs? | ||
| f) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| I like to refer to my priorities as the HER Agenda -- healthy families, equal opportunity, and responsible government. As Chairwoman of the Women's Health Caucus, I will lead House members on policy changes that would materially impact women's access to quality healthcare. Additionally, whether it's standing up for the LGBTQ+ community, ensuring gender equality, or pushing back against anachronistic state representations of the Confederacy, I have always stood against discriminatory policies. I will continue to stand firm in holding those in power accountable, and advocate for a more responsible government. | |||
| My focus is on shaping a responsible state budget as we respond to the increasing need for services at the same time our revenues are falling. The Gov. directed a broad cut to state agencies reducing funding for essential programs like women's health services and child protection. However, there are a number of other revenue options we have to make ends meets. This could be paid for by utilizing the Economic Stabilization Fund, expanding Medicaid, better distribution of CARES dollars, and closing tax loopholes. |
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