Conservative Values - Practical Solutions
EDUCATION: I want to be an advocate for education in the Utah Legislature. Legislators should not be adversaries of educators. Neither should the Legislature act as a "super-school board" and dictate the education decisions of parents and local elected boards, teachers, and administrators. On the federal side, the Department of Education continues to dictate state and local education policy. "No Child Left Behind" legislation has left us all behind. I will urge Utah to join the other states seeking exemption from this federal law so that we can manage our own education locally.
I will work for increased funding through economic development and alternative revenue sources without requiring tax increases. I support efforts to reduce class sizes and implement innovations that will continue to enhance the quality of education. I will assist educators to implement performance evaluations that are fair and accurate. Finally, I will listen and respond to educators on issues important to them; they are the experts and the professionals.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: I favor free markets and free enterprise. Economic freedom goes hand-in-hand with political freedom. I will work to eliminate government regulations that inhibit free enterprise and economic growth, including federal regulations that threaten coal-fired electric plants, close public lands to mining and energy development, and burden our agriculture industry.
HEALTHCARE: I will work with local health care providers to control rising costs and develop an acceptable state response to the federal Affordable Care Act. I support state efforts to operate our own health insurance exchange and to establish our own Medicaid eligibility standards. Moreover, I will join the resistance of religious entities and others to federally-mandated insurance coverage for abortions and contraception.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: My heart goes out to families in other countries racked by poverty, crime, and violence. I too would seek a better life in another country if necessary. However, immigration must be legal and ordered. We must secure our borders and enforce the rule of law. Removing the incentives for illegal immigration, such as illegal employment and birth-right citizenship for illegal immigrants, will help. This is an issue of public security and safety, to prevent not only identity theft, but cultivation of marijuana on our public lands and expansion of foreign drug cartels into our state. As a sovereign state, we have the right and the duty to exercise our police power to require documentation of aliens and to protect our own citizens.
SECOND AMENDMENT: I fully support our constitutional right to bear arms and will resist any effort to erode that precious right.
STRENGTHENING CITIZENS:
STATE SOVEREIGNTY AND PUBLIC LANDS: Our U.S. Constitution established a federal government with limited and enumerated powers. All other government power is retained by the people and the states. Our Constitution and our Republic are in jeopardy today because the federal government has exceeded its enumerated powers. I will work in the Utah Legislature by all legal means to challenge federal incursions into state matters and help restore the constitutional balance of power. This includes an inventory of all federally-controlled lands and steps to transfer to state control all public lands that do not have a national purpose.
TAXATION: "The power to tax is the power to destroy." Government holds public revenues in trust and must always seek the most efficient and beneficial use of those revenues to keep tax rates as low as possible. I favor a balanced source of tax revenues from income, property, and sales. I believe that all who benefit from government services should contribute fairly to the cost of those services, and that the burden of taxation should not fall disproportionately on any individual or segment of society.
LEGISLATURE: I will work to improve legislative ethics, campaign finance laws, and the legislative process to better serve the real needs of the public.
I will work for increased funding through economic development and alternative revenue sources without requiring tax increases. I support efforts to reduce class sizes and implement innovations that will continue to enhance the quality of education. I will assist educators to implement performance evaluations that are fair and accurate. Finally, I will listen and respond to educators on issues important to them; they are the experts and the professionals.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: I favor free markets and free enterprise. Economic freedom goes hand-in-hand with political freedom. I will work to eliminate government regulations that inhibit free enterprise and economic growth, including federal regulations that threaten coal-fired electric plants, close public lands to mining and energy development, and burden our agriculture industry.
HEALTHCARE: I will work with local health care providers to control rising costs and develop an acceptable state response to the federal Affordable Care Act. I support state efforts to operate our own health insurance exchange and to establish our own Medicaid eligibility standards. Moreover, I will join the resistance of religious entities and others to federally-mandated insurance coverage for abortions and contraception.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION: My heart goes out to families in other countries racked by poverty, crime, and violence. I too would seek a better life in another country if necessary. However, immigration must be legal and ordered. We must secure our borders and enforce the rule of law. Removing the incentives for illegal immigration, such as illegal employment and birth-right citizenship for illegal immigrants, will help. This is an issue of public security and safety, to prevent not only identity theft, but cultivation of marijuana on our public lands and expansion of foreign drug cartels into our state. As a sovereign state, we have the right and the duty to exercise our police power to require documentation of aliens and to protect our own citizens.
SECOND AMENDMENT: I fully support our constitutional right to bear arms and will resist any effort to erode that precious right.
STRENGTHENING CITIZENS:
- Elected officials: All political power originates with the people--not with the Legislature or government officials. As a legislator, I intend to listen to and do the will of the people to the best of my judgment.
- Initiative Power: The Utah Constitution retains for the people the power to pass laws--a power equal to that granted the Legislature. I agree that this power should not be used lightly; however, the Legislature has imposed so many obstacles to public initiatives that the process is almost impossible. I will work to remove those obstacles to make the process more fair.
- Constitutional Amendment: The Utah Constitution is a grant of power from the people to the state government; yet, it contains no provision for the people to initiate an amendment. I support restoring to the people the authority to amend their own founding document.
STATE SOVEREIGNTY AND PUBLIC LANDS: Our U.S. Constitution established a federal government with limited and enumerated powers. All other government power is retained by the people and the states. Our Constitution and our Republic are in jeopardy today because the federal government has exceeded its enumerated powers. I will work in the Utah Legislature by all legal means to challenge federal incursions into state matters and help restore the constitutional balance of power. This includes an inventory of all federally-controlled lands and steps to transfer to state control all public lands that do not have a national purpose.
TAXATION: "The power to tax is the power to destroy." Government holds public revenues in trust and must always seek the most efficient and beneficial use of those revenues to keep tax rates as low as possible. I favor a balanced source of tax revenues from income, property, and sales. I believe that all who benefit from government services should contribute fairly to the cost of those services, and that the burden of taxation should not fall disproportionately on any individual or segment of society.
LEGISLATURE: I will work to improve legislative ethics, campaign finance laws, and the legislative process to better serve the real needs of the public.
Merrill Nelson
164 South 800 East
Grantsville, UT 84029
435-840-2472
mnelson@le.utah.gov
164 South 800 East
Grantsville, UT 84029
435-840-2472
mnelson@le.utah.gov
