Libertas Legislator Profiles


Legislator Profile: Senator Howard Stephenson

Name: Howard Stephenson
Type: Senator
Party: Republican
No longer in office

Libertas Legislator Index Rankings

The following rating measures how consistently this legislator votes in support of individual liberty, private property, and free enterprise. To learn more, see the main index page.

20142015201620172018 Overall Rating
94%92%81%65%74.5% 81%

To see the specific votes used to rank this legislator, click the link in the table above for any of the yearly percentages listed.

Sponsored Ranked Bills

This legislator was the sponsor of the following bills, which were ranked by Libertas Institute in their respective year's Legislator Index.

  • SB122: Bond Elections Amendments (2018)
    This bill ensures that taxpayers who vote for a bond are only required to repay the precise amount for which they were asked, and no more.

    This bill passed the Senate 23-3 and passed the House 40-28. Libertas supports a "yea" vote.
  • SB154: Prohibition of Law Enforcement Quotas (2018)
    This bill prohibited police quotas in Utah.

    This bill passed the Senate 23-2 and passed the House unanimously. Libertas supports a "yea" vote.
  • SB70: Asset Forfeiture Transparency Amendments (2017)
    This bill enhanced a forfeiture transparency bill that Libertas Institute first proposed two years ago, in order to collect more information on how forfeiture cases are being handled. This bill passed the entire legislature unanimously. Libertas supports a "yea" vote. A recent poll showed that 86% of Utah voters oppose civil asset forfeiture. Given the concern over this issue, the public needs to gain a better understanding of how this law is being used, and how it might be further reformed.
  • SB255: Funding for Education Systems Amendments (2017)
    This bill would have increased property taxes to generate an additional $20 million for government schools.

    This bill passed the Senate 25-2 but did not receive a vote in the House. Libertas supports a "nay" vote, because the education establishment should not receive additional money to throw towards antiquated methods of instructing children, and the bloated administration that has grown in recent decades.
  • SB52: Asset Forfeiture Amendments (2015)
    This bill requires transparency and reporting on the part of law enforcement agencies who use asset forfeiture to seize, and permanently take and profit from, the property of Utah citizens. The raw data submitted by agencies along with the resulting summary report will be provided to the public in order to better understand how this power is being used.

    This bill passed unanimously in both the House and the Senate. Libertas supports a "yea" vote.
  • SB256: Asset Forfeiture Amendments (2014)
    This bill reverted substantive changes made to forfeiture law last year. These changes were packed in a bill that was voted on unanimously by the legislature who was told that it was a simple re-codification bill, when it actually was not.

    Libertas Institute supports this bill. Our policy analysis brought to light these key changes, which the bill corrected to restore due process and property rights protections.

    This bill passed both the Senate and House unanimously. Libertas supports a "yea" vote.
  • SB167: Regulation of Drones (2014)
    This bill restricted the ability of law enforcement officials in Utah to use drones for investigations and prosecutions.

    Libertas Institute supported this bill. While we are excited by the economic development potential that drones present, we firmly believe that police officials should be limited in their ability to surveil citizens.

    This bill passed the Senate unanimously and passed the House 67-5. Libertas supports a "yea" vote.

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