Missouri Non-incumbent Candidate SurveySun-21-Apr-2002 Missouri Chamber of Commerce
1. Current Missouri workers' compensation law allows workers' compensation to be paid out if work was "a" substantial factor in causing an injury. Do you support or oppose legislation that would tighten current law to make work "the" substantial factore before a workers' compensation claim would be paid? SUPPORT 2. The state currently diverts more than $300 million in motor vehicle fuel and sales taxes to general revenue. Do you support or oppose requiring the state to commit these diverted funds to transportation prior to raising new taxes from the general public? SUPPORT 3. Do you support or oppose allowing a corporation to deduct the full amount of federal income taxes paid when calculating the corporation's state income taxes to prevent double taxation? SUPPORT 4. Growth for our state's budget has become one of the key issues of debate for Missouri's General Assembly, with some lawmakers pushing to find additional revenues for general spending through use of the state's "rainy day fund," sweeping dedicated funds, and raising taxes. Do you support or oppose reducing state spending to match revenue collections, rather than raising taxes or using dedicated or emergency funds? SUPPORT 5. Missouri is currently an employment-at-will state, where employees generally have the right to terminate an employee at any time as long as it doesn't violate a contract or the employee's civil rights. Legislation is annually introduced to allow an employee to sue an employer when the employee feels that he or she has been unfairly or wrongfully discharged. Do you support or oppose legislation that would abolish Missouri's employment-at-will law? SUPPORT 6. Do you support or oppose public employee collective bargaining? OPPOSE 7. Do you believe that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources should carry the Burden of Proof for the denial of permit applications or any new rule or regulation that it or the eight environmental commisions promulgate? SUPPORT 8. Annually, legislation is introduced that would send discrimination claims against an employer to a state jury trial, instead of the current administrative process where such cases are handled before a judge throught the Missiouri Human Rights Commission. Do you support or oppose imposition of jury trials on employers in discrimination cases? OPPOSE 9. Do you support or oppose a limit on punitive damage awards in cases of civil litigations? SUPPORT 10. Venue shopping is the practice of transferring court cases to a locality preferred by plaintiff lawyers where a jury would be more likely to find in favor of the plaintiff. Are you inclined to support or oppose legislation that would require cases of civil litigation to be tried in the locality in which the cause of action occurred? SUPPORT 11. Health care affordability, accessibility, quality of care, and cost containment have become major concerns for Missourians. Are you inclined to support or oppose the state adopting a univeral health care system that offers equal coverage to all citizens? OPPOSE 12. Would you support or oppose mandating all employers provide health insurance for all employees? OPPOSE 13. Would you support or oppose legislation that allows employees to sue employers in disputes between health insurance providers and patients covered by employer-based insurance plans? OPPOSE 14. Do you support or oppose initiating a new tax to pay for the financing of political campaigns? OPPOSE 15. The U.S. Congress passed in 1998 a law transferring the burden of proof to the IRS in tax audit cases. Current law requires most businesses to prove that taxes were properly reported and paid when audited by the Missouri Department of Revenue, meaning that the burden is on the employer to prove it did not violate the law. Do you support or oppose shifting the burden of proof to the DOR to prove its case against an employer in all tax disputes? SUPPORT 16. Currently the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows for companies regulated by the EPA to perform voluntary self audits of their facilities to correct environmental violations without penalty. Do you support allowing companies in Missouri, regulated by the Department of Natural Resources (MoDNR), to be able to perform self audits of their facility and correct environmental violation, which otherwise would never be detected, without penalty from the MoDNR? SUPPORT Arnold J. Trembley
Home: 314-567-0636 E-mail: arnold.trembley@att.net
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