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Candidate Questionnaire 
Name:
Walter J. Shandrowsky
Office Sought: State Senate
District: 31
Party Affiliation:
Democrat
Have you previously held public office?
Yes
Maryland House Of Delegates 1979-1982
What is your Occupation?
Retired Manufacturers' Rep
What are the three key issues of your campaign, and why are they important to the business community?
1. Excessive partisanship- Issues, including those important to business, are being passed or rejected based solely on the party membership of the sponsor.
2. Education- We must ensure that our educational system is adequately preparing our students to not only satisfy the demand for qualified workers, but also to enable our graduates to compete in the global economy with graduates from high achieving foreign countries.
3.Cost of government- the people whom I seek to represent, individuals and business people alike expect their legislators to keep the cost of government commensurate with the public's willingness to finance it.
Why are you the best person to represent the people of your district?
Of the 7 candidates seeking this office, 2 Democrats and 5 republicans, my resume shows the strongest combination of qualifications and experience.
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? |
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Support |
Oppose |
Undecided |
| Contain state spending |
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| Cut state spending |
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| Avoid new unfunded or under-funded state spending mandates |
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| Authorize slot machines |
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| Increase taxes |
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| Do you support any of the following measures to increase state revenue? |
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Support |
Oppose |
Undecided |
| Income tax increase |
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| Income tax increase on high wage earners |
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| Corporate income tax increase |
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| Sales tax increase |
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| Broadening the sales tax base to include professional services |
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| Regional sales tax increase for mass transit |
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| Dedicating one cent of the existing sales tax to transportation and/or transit needs |
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| Gas tax increase |
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| No new spending mandates |
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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? |
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Support |
Oppose |
Undecided |
| Enact meaningful medical liability reform |
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| Enact association health plan legislation |
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| Reform the small group health plan |
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| Enact a single-payer, government-run health care system |
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| Review and repeal unnecessary health care mandates |
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| Employers should contribute to HSAs and leave the health care decision to the individual |
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| Tax employers who don’t offer health insurance, or whose plans don’t meet state requirements |
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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? |
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Support |
Oppose |
Undecided |
| Support reforms to civil liability law that will help moderate medical liability insurance rates |
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| Restore the cap on non-economic damage awards in latent disease and latent injury cases |
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| Enact legislation to provide reasonable limits for appeal bonds |
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| Make it easier for a person filing suit to receive punitive damages |
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| Lower caps on non-economic damages. |
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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. |
