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Cheryl Reynolds-R |
Sean Gatewood- D |
| Proposals concerning forced city/county consolidation and unilateral annexation continue to be introduced and debated by the legislature each year. Do you suppose or oppose legislation which would allow forced consolidations or annexations when a majority of residents in the annexed area are opposed? |
Oppose. |
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| Several key issues will face the Kansas Legislature in the upcoming years. Please indicate which you believe are the most important issues (top 3). |
Since many of these issues are intertwined, merely numbering them from 1 to 7 doesn’t accurately portray my viewpoint. For example, the coal plant and also the refinery that were recently lost were missed opportunities for both education and energy. Both would have created jobs and generated tax income that would have been of benefit to local school districts. Support for the coal plant and refinery would have been support for education and for energy. In general, I believe that we must have an energy plan as an immediate priority. Kansans who are paying more at the pump and facing sharply increased costs with the coming winter heating season know this is a priority. In order to be able to afford increased funding for education, health care, and state employees, we must both control government spending and attract new businesses to Kansas who will provide increased revenue. An approach that doesn’t both value increased revenue and careful spending is an incomplete plan. Yes, I support a new CTP, but it should be done without increasing taxes, new user fees or additional bonding. I think the first step in immigration legislation is exert what influence we can on the federal government to assure that we have a fair and efficient immigration system that allows for both lawful immigration in reasonable numbers and a guest worker program to benefit our economy. At the same time, we must make sure we are not harboring people within our borders with criminal records or ties to organized crime or terrorism. For this reason, our borders need to be secure. Most importantly, we need to work harder to find common ground to solve the problem. The recent stalemate on the issue in our state government is not useful to anyone. |
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| Should the state of Kansas require that all businesses provide health insurance to their employees? |
No.
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| Should the state of Kansas require all individuals to carry health insurance? |
No.
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| When should taxed on businesses be increased (ranked from 1-4, with 1 being the most important)? |
In the end, all taxes are paid by people. So, increasing taxes on businesses ultimately means we are increasing our own costs for goods and services. It also can have a dampening effect on attracting new businesses and growing the businesses we already have. This decreases revenue and further contributes to rising costs for all of us. Far better to examine our current government spending habits with an eye towards efficiency.
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| If, while in office, the state experiences revenue shortfalls, how would you propose the legislature address the shortfalls? |
Cut spending before raising taxes.
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| Energy policy was the most debated topic during the 2008 Session. Which of the following best reflects your opinion on Kansas energy policy? |
Kansas should permit the coal plants requested to be built in Holcomb and should continue to look at additional sources of energy for Kansas. |
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| Do you support a state constitutional amendment to cap or limit state spending? |
Support. |
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