Howard A. Stephenson is a Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

 politician representing the State's 11th senate district in Salt Lake County

Salt Lake County, Utah

Salt Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Utah. It had a population of 1,029,655 at the 2010 census. Its county seat and largest city is Salt Lake City, the state capital. It occupies Salt Lake Valley, as well as parts of the surrounding mountains, the Oquirrh Mountains to the west...

 including Draper

Draper, Utah

Draper is a city in Salt Lake and Utah Counties in the U.S. state of Utah, located about south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front. Between 1990 and 2000 Draper was Utah's fastest-growing city over 5,000 people . Its population in 1990 was 7,143 and had grown to 25,220 by the 2000 census...

. He was elected to the State Senate in 1992.

Early life

Stephenson received a B.S. degree in psychology and aerospace studies from Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University

Brigham Young University is a private university located in Provo, Utah. It is owned and operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints , and is the United States' largest religious university and third-largest private university.Approximately 98% of the university's 34,000 students...

, and a Master of Public Administration, also from Brigham Young University.

Stephenson is a Latter-day Saint (Mormon).

Political career

As a Utah State Senator, Stephenson is well-positioned to influence Utah legislation relating to education and to state revenues. He is co-chair of the Senate's Public Education Appropriations Committee. He is also a member of the Senate's Education Committee and its Revenue and Taxation Committee.

In addition to his duties as a state senator, Stephenson is the President of the Utah Taxpayer's Association. He has been with the Association since 1977.

Stephenson is a proponent of year-round schools. He believes that moving public schools to a trimester schedule will save money. On his campaign website, he states that he supports "tuition tax credits or vouchers."

He has proposed a bill which would require surety bonds for guest workers, to "ensure that . . . the people who are here have no criminal background, are disease free, and are paying their own cost of policing."