Perdue Selects Stephens as Senate Floor Leader

Atlanta - Governor-Elect Sonny Perdue today announced that Senator Bill Stephens of Canton will serve as one of his floor leaders in the upcoming legislative session.

"I served in the Senate with Bill Stephens and he shares my values. His honesty, dedication, and leadership style will be invaluable in building the bipartisan coalitions needed to move our plan for a new Georgia forward," Perdue said. "I am honored that Bill will be at my side as we draft and pass legislation that will make Georgians proud."

Stephens will join Senator Dan Lee of LaGrange in introducing all legislation brought forward by the Governor.

BIOGRAPHY OF SENATOR BILL STEPHENS

Senator Bill Stephens, a businessman from Canton, was elected to the Georgia State Senate in 1998, to represent the 51st District.

Senator Stephens serves on the Banking and Financial Institutions; Economic Development, Tourism and Culture Affairs; Insurance and Labor; Reapportionment; and Retirement Committees.

Senator Stephens has authored legislation in several areas, specifically focusing on school safety, education, economic development, growth and budget issues.

At the beginning of his second term in the Senate in 2000, Senator Stephens' Republican colleagues elected him as chairman of the 24 member Republican Caucus.

Senator Stephens is also known as the creator of the "Georgia Stuck Pig Award," a recognition modeled after the old federal "Golden Fleece Award," given on the federal level. The stuck pig award is used to highlight inappropriate uses of taxpayer dollars.

Stephens is a native of Morganton in Fannin County where his family has lived for five generations. He graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from the University of Georgia in 1978. He earned a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Georgia State University in 1983.

He has four sons, Joshua, Jordan, Conner and William. He is married to Shannon Walshe Stephens, a news anchor at WSB-TV in Atlanta. They are members of the First United Methodist Church of Canton.