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Candidate Questionnaire

Name: Bryan Simonaire

Office Sought: State Senate

District: 31

Party Affiliation: Republican

Have you previously held public office?

No

What is your Occupation?

Computer Systems Engineer

What are the three key issues of your campaign, and why are they important to the business community?

1. Accountability in Education – An educated work force is crucial to the success of any business.

2. Affordable Health Care – Health care costs are out of control and often employers are required to pay the brunt of the costs. I will work to make sure small business owners can band together to form AHPs and work to improve medical liability.

3. Taxes – I have signed the no-new tax pledge and will oppose any and all efforts by legislators in Annapolis to increase state revenue through increased taxes.

Why are you the best person to represent the people of your district?

I am a husband and father of seven who must balance the family’s budget daily.

Fiscal Responsibility
Despite the temporary surplus resulting from robust economic expansion, funding of current state services and new accounting requirements impacting state retiree health insurance costs will consume all available state revenues. The State continues to have a long-term structural deficit.

Which of the following actions would you support to balance the state’s budget?
	Support	Oppose	Undecided
Contain state spending
Cut state spending
Avoid new unfunded or under-funded state spending mandates
Authorize slot machines
Increase taxes

Do you support any of the following measures to increase state revenue?
	Support	Oppose	Undecided
Income tax increase
Income tax increase on high wage earners
Corporate income tax increase
Sales tax increase
Broadening the sales tax base to include professional services
Regional sales tax increase for mass transit
Dedicating one cent of the existing sales tax to transportation and/or transit needs
Gas tax increase
No new spending mandates

Health Care Affordability
Health insurance costs are rising at levels nearly three times the overall rate of inflation. Employers and employees are increasingly unable or unwilling to purchase health insurance coverage as it is currently offered.

Which of the following steps do you support to make health care insurance more affordable and available?
	Support	Oppose	Undecided
Enact meaningful medical liability reform
Enact association health plan legislation
Reform the small group health plan
Enact a single-payer, government-run health care system
Review and repeal unnecessary health care mandates
Employers should contribute to HSAs and leave the health care decision to the individual
Tax employers who don’t offer health insurance, or whose plans don’t meet state requirements

Do you support expanding the “Wal-Mart bill” payroll tax to more employers in the future?

No.

Civil Liability Reform
Maryland’s fair and predictable laws governing tort liability are an essential part of Maryland’s business climate, and are important in business retention and attraction.

Which of the following do you support?
	Support	Oppose	Undecided
Support reforms to civil liability law that will help moderate medical liability insurance rates
Restore the cap on non-economic damage awards in latent disease and latent injury cases
Enact legislation to provide reasonable limits for appeal bonds
Make it easier for a person filing suit to receive punitive damages
Lower caps on non-economic damages.

Miscellaneous

Do you support indexing Maryland’s minimum wage to inflation?

No.

In 2004, Maryland de-coupled its state estate tax from the federal estate tax. Should this change be repealed to bring Maryland law back in line with the federal law?

Yes.

Should the Governor be authorized to impose price controls when products are in short supply?

No.