Constituents say ? Legislators release results of annual survey

1. The governor recently announced major changes in TennCare to keep the program alive and solvent. These changes would include keeping children and Medicaid eligible adults on the TennCare system. However, the new changes would eliminate the adult medically uninsurables and leave them without health insurance options. If we adopt the governor’s proposal, would you support a state health insurance program that would provide coverage for the uninsureds and uninsurables, even though the premiums would be costly?
YES 50% NO 28%
UNDECIDED 22%

2. If the governor’s proposal is adopted, and state dollars are available due to a savings in health care costs, would you support dedicating these funds to K-12 education or having the extra monies go to the General Fund for other state programs?
DEDICATE FUNDS TO K-12 57%
MONIES TO GENERAL FUND 29%
UNDECIDED 14%

3. Tennessee has a winner-take-all method of electoral vote allocation in Presidential elections. This means all 11 Tennessee electoral votes go to the presidential candidate with the most votes statewide (one for each Congressional District and two at-large votes). Do you support a change in the law that would allow the winner of each Congressional District to be awarded that district’s electoral vote, and the winner of the statewide vote be awarded the state’s remaining two at-large electoral votes?
SUPPORT CHANGE 49%
LEAVE AS IS 40%
UNDECIDED 11%

4. Should the General Assembly mandate that electronic touch-screen voting machines be required to have paper records as a backup?
YES 75% NO 18%
UNDECIDED 7%

5. Do you support the legalization of marijuana for medical use?
YES 55% NO 35%
UNDECIDED 10%
6. Do you support legislation making all sinus and cold medicine containing a significant amount of “pseudoephedrine” (the main ingredient in meth) available only behind the counter at pharmacies, by prescription only, or require customers to show photo ID & sign a registry?
ONLY BEHIND COUNTER 36%
PRESCRIPTION ONLY 16%
PHOTO ID/SIGN REGISTRY 31%
LEAVE LAW AS IS 14%
UNDECIDED 3%

7. Do you support legislation allowing Tennesseans to directly purchase wine from out-of-state wineries and/or over the Internet?
YES 63% NO 29%
UNDECIDED 8%

8. Prescription drugs from Canada are approximately 25% to 40% cheaper than the same drugs purchased in the U.S. Do you support allowing Tennesseans to purchase safe prescription drugs from Canada?
YES 86% NO 9%
UNDECIDED 5%

9. Would you support increasing the tax on cigarettes if it meant reducing the sales tax on groceries?
YES 81% NO 17%
UNDECIDED 2%

10. Currently in Tennessee, the law states the only recognized form of marriage in this state is the legal union between a man and woman. Do you support a Constitutional Amendment to put this language in our state’s Constitution?
YES 68% NO 26%
UNDECIDED 6%

11. Should stalking be a felony on the first offense?
YES 67% NO 19%
UNDECIDED 14%

12. Would you favor a mandatory six-month sentence for all first-time stalking offenders?
YES 65% NO 22%
UNDECIDED 13%

13. Would you favor a statewide registry of properties that have been contaminated by toxic meth labs to serve as a resource for home buyers and renters?
YES 84% NO 10%
UNDECIDED 6%
14. Have you ever personally encountered adverse health affects from aerial spraying of pesticides?
YES 7% NO 84%
UNDECIDED 9%

15. Many insurance companies in Tennessee use an individual’s credit report to determine insurability and rates. Federal law allows them to use these credit reports. However, would you support state legislation which would put limits on how insurance companies could use these credit reports to determine an individual’s insurability and/or their premium rates?
YES TO LIMITS 76%
NO TO LIMITS 13%
UNDECIDED 11%

16. Should the legislature raise the academic standards threshold for the Hope Scholarship?
YES 30% NO 48%
UNDECIDED 22%

17. If the lottery meets its monetary goals, and there are funds beyond what is needed for college scholarships, should the money be spent on pre-kindergarten and other education needs, or should the scholarship amounts be increased?
SPEND ON EDUCATION 45%
INCREASE SCHOLARSHIPS 46%
UNDECIDED 9%

18. Should increasing funds to higher education (which have been cut in the last two budgets), be made a greater priority than increasing funds for K-12?
HIGHER EDUCATION 40%
K-12 PRIORITY 43%
UNDECIDED 17%

19. Do you consider the Tennessee Lottery/Hope Scholarship Program a success?
YES 56% NO 14%
UNDECIDED 30%

20. Would you support the expansion of state law to allow additional tax-exempt organizations (such as veterans groups) to hold events involving gaming such as bingo and raffles?
YES 67% NO 25%
UNDECIDED 8%

21. Currently, state law supersedes any local regulation of tobacco products. Should local governments have the authority to restrict smoking in public places?
YES 70% NO 27%
UNDECIDED 3%

22. Tennessee currently has a “handgun carry permit law” which requires individuals to pass FBI criminal background checks, as well as take a gun safety class. Should a law be passed which would allow a duly licensed individual, who is not consuming alcohol, to take their concealed weapons in bars or restaurants that serve alcohol?
YES 26% NO 70%
UNDECIDED 4%

23. Should a duly licensed handgun carry permit holder be allowed to enter school property or a public park with a weapon in their car, if they do not remove or use the weapon or permit another person to remove or use the weapon?
YES 40% NO 55%
UNDECIDED 5%

24. Do you support limits on the amount of money a plaintiff can recover in a medical malpractice case against a doctor and/or hospital for “non-economic” damages (i.e. pain, suffering, etc.)?
YES 55% NO 35%
UNDECIDED 10%

25. Do you support allowing doctors and/or hospitals to pay off lawsuit damages over $150,000, to victims of medical malpractice over an extended period of time, instead of one lump sum?
EXTENDED TIME 43%
LUMP SUM ONLY 40%
UNDECIDED 17%

26. Should the state pass a law to make it illegal for drivers under 18 to drive and talk on a cell phone at the same time?
YES 65% NO 30%
UNDECIDED 5%

27. Should the state pass a law banning cell phone use by a driver, while their vehicle is in operation? Or, should state law require “hands-free” cell phone accessories, if a driver wishes to use a cell phone while their vehicle is in operation?
BAN ALL DRIVER USE 29%
REQUIRE HANDS-FREE 37%
LEAVE STATE LAW AS IS 29%
UNDECIDED 5%

28. Should the requirement that motorcycle drivers and riders wear helmets be eliminated?
ELIMINATE REQUIREMENT 18%
REQUIRE HELMETS 76%
UNDECIDED 6%

29. Should tractor-trailer trucks be required to drive in the right-hand lanes of interstates?
YES 70% NO 23%
UNDECIDED 7%

30. Should the state require local school boards to buy seat belts for school buses?
YES 46% NO 36%
UNDECIDED 18%

31. Should Tennesseans be given tax incentives to purchase “alternative-fuel cell” vehicles (also called “hybrids”)?
YES 64% NO 25%
UNDECIDED 11%

32. Should access fees be charged for entry into our state parks with the goal of making state parks self-sufficient?
YES 36% NO 55%
UNDECIDED 9%

33. Should state parks be allowed to sell alcohol?
YES 25% NO 69%
UNDECIDED 6%

34. Should automobile emissions testing be implemented in counties where there are pollution problems?
YES 56% NO 29%
UNDECIDED 15%

35. Should a company be required to notify the state when it intends to clear cut and harvest timber on properties in Tennessee?
YES 83% NO 11%
UNDECIDED 6%