Candidate Questionnaire for Tea Party Activists
By Jack McHughs Blog, Section News
Posted on Wed May 13, 2009 at 12:46:00 PM EST
Tags: tea party, political class, MichiganVotes.org, Mackinac Center (all tags)
(Cross-posted from the Mackinac Center website. This is part of a Tea Party Activists "Tool Box" that also includes "Tea Party Activists Have Attitude" and "Ten-Minute Tea Party Activist."
Name of candidate, and office sought:________
Part 1 -- These specific measures received votes in the Michigan Legislature. How do you think you would you have voted?
- Bills to provide substantial tax breaks for ethanol and biodiesel producers.
- Bills that would increase unemployment insurance assessments (taxes) on employers by $70 million annually in order to get $139 million in one-time federal "stimulus" money.
- An amendment adding $9.5 million for low-income youth dental programs in Wayne County.
- A bill allowing local convention and tourism bureaus to levy a 2 percent hotel and motel room tax to support regional marketing and promotion programs.
- "Revenue enhancment" bills to extend for another six years "temporary" increases passed by the previous Legislature in business incorporation fees, investment advisor license fees, etc.
- A bill to spend $60 million raised by borrowing against future tobacco lawsuit proceeds for tourism industry promotion.
- A bill allow local school districts to levy a "sinking fund" property tax millage that could be used for certain operational expenses (2008 vote and 2009 vote).
- A bill to allow teacher union locals to bargain over a school district privatizing non-instructional services.
- A bill to require unions to annually seek written permission from each individual worker before using that worker's union dues for political purposes.
- A bill to require MESSA (the MEA teacher union's insurance affiliate) to release individual school district claims history data.
- A bill to impose renewable energy mandates on electric
utilities.
- A bill to scale back Michigan's electricity competition law.
- A bill to prohibit drilling for oil and gas underneath the Great Lakes (slant drilling).
- Bills to allow local government borrowing (bonding) to cover the cost of government retiree health care benefits (2006 vote and 2009 vote).
- A bill making state government employee post-retirement health benefits an enforceable obligation on the state.
- Bills voted on in the House and Senate that let local school districts increase property taxes by up to 1 mill to operate swimming pools, recreation centers, auditoriums, conference centers, etc. as a "recreation authority."
- A bill to hand out millions of dollars of cash subsidies to Hollywood producers who shoot films in Michigan.
Part 2 -- General Candidate Preferences
- Would you support repealing a 22 percent Michigan Business Tax surcharge passed in 2007, and replacing the $700 million it raises each year with budget cuts?
- Will you sign a "no new taxes" pledge?
- Would you support replacing some Michigan prisons with privately managed prisons?
- Would you support "voucherizing" higher education funding so the money follows the students rather than the university?
- Would you support shifting Michigan State Police road patrols to county sheriff deputies if this would save money? (This is strongly opposed by the MSP.)
- Would you support placing all new school employees in defined-contribution pension systems?
- Would you support repealing the "prevailing wage" law that requires union-scale wages to be paid on school and other state construction projects?
- Would you support making Michigan a right-to-work state?
- Can you name three state government programs that you would introduce legislation to eliminate?
See also "Tea Party Activists Have Attitude" and "Ten-Minute Tea Party Activist."