Legislators / Emily Buss
“Typical” is the median of all 29 Senate members in the 2026 General Session.
In short
In the 2026 General Session, Sen. Emily Buss wrote 6 bills (0 passed), asked the budget committees to fund 2 requests (0 funded), and spoke on the record 77 times. They missed 80 of 1080 floor votes (7%) and voted against most of their own party 0 times (–). Based only on their votes, they are the 7th most liberal of 29 Senate members.
Where they land
7th most liberal of 29 Senate members
Hover or tap a dot to see who it is.
- Democrat
- Republican
- Forward Party
- Sen. Emily Buss
How we placed them
Placed only by their own votes: we took the 264 contested Senate floor votes of the 2026 session (where at least 10% voted on the losing side) and found the main line that divides how members vote, the same idea political scientists use to score Congress. No bill is labeled liberal or conservative by us; the conservative end is simply the side where most Republicans fall. More on how this works
See every Senate member in order
- John D. Johnson (R-3)
- Lincoln Fillmore (R-17)
- Daniel McCay (R-18)
- Brady Brammer (R-21)
- Wayne A. Harper (R-16)
- Keven J. Stratton (R-24)
- Scott D. Sandall (R-1)
- Chris H. Wilson (R-2)
- Heidi Balderree (R-22)
- J. Stuart Adams (R-7)
- Calvin R. Musselman (R-4)
- Ronald M. Winterton (R-20)
- Keith Grover (R-23)
- Michael K. McKell (R-25)
- Jerry W Stevenson (R-6)
- Derrin R. Owens (R-27)
- Ann Millner (R-5)
- Kirk A. Cullimore (R-19)
- Todd Weiler (R-8)
- Don L. Ipson (R-29)
- David P. Hinkins (R-26)
- Evan J. Vickers (R-28)
- Emily Buss (F-11)
- Luz Escamilla (D-10)
- Jen Plumb (D-9)
- Karen Kwan (D-12)
- Stephanie Pitcher (D-14)
- Kathleen A. Riebe (D-15)
- Nate Blouin (D-13)
Most conservative first.
Do their actions match their words?
Sen. Emily Buss measured against their own campaign promises and claims.
3 of 4 promises with a record so far: kept or being worked on · typical Senate member (of 7 reviewed): 100%
2 kept · 1 working on it · 1 mixed · 4 too early (of 8 promises)
Claim about their recordSays she sponsored H.B. 541, the First-Time Homebuyer Assistance Program bill.Kept
What they said: nothing found Bills: matches Votes: nothing foundShe was the Senate floor sponsor of H.B. 541 (House sponsor: Rep. Verona Mauga). It did not pass.
Claim about their recordSays she was one of a few senators to vote no on H.B. 60.Kept
What they said: nothing found Bills: matches Votes: nothing foundThe roll call confirms it: H.B. 60 passed the Senate 18-7 on third reading, and Buss was one of the 7 no votes. The other six no votes were the Senate Democrats.
Claim about their recordSays her voting record shows she votes with neither party.Mixed
What they said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: on the recordThe full 2026 roll-call record partly supports it. On the 145 Senate floor votes where the Republican and Democratic majorities voted opposite ways, Buss sided with Republicans 70 times and Democrats 75 times. No other senator was close to even: every Republican sided with the Republican majority 72% to 98% of the time, and every Democrat sided with the Democratic majority 83% to 99% of the time. One caveat: on bills’ final Senate passage votes alone, she sided with Democrats more often (37 times, to 19 with Republicans). And like every senator, she voted with both parties on most bills, since most pass with support from both.
TaxesEnd the sales tax on food.Too early
What they said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: nothing foundStated in October 2026. Will be checked against the 2027 session. No bill to end the sales tax on grocery food reached a Senate floor vote in 2026.
HousingLet first-time homebuyer programs cover older homes, not just new builds.Working on it
What they said: nothing found Bills: matches Votes: nothing foundShe carried H.B. 541 in the Senate in 2026; it did not pass.
HousingStop the sale of single-family homes to corporations.Too early
What they said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: nothing foundStated in October 2026. Will be checked against the 2027 session.
WaterRequire data centers and other water-intensive industries to disclose projected water use.Too early
What they said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: nothing foundStated in October 2026. Will be checked against the 2027 session.
WaterStop HOAs from fining homeowners for low-water landscaping.Too early
What they said: nothing found Bills: nothing found Votes: nothing foundStated in October 2026. Will be checked against the 2027 session.
Tap any row to see what we checked. Full details and sources · How we score
Bills they wrote
All 6 →- S.B. 189 School District Funding Amendments · Did not pass
- S.B. 247 Road Funding Amendments · Did not pass
- S.B. 291 Student Transportation Amendments · Did not pass
- S.B. 297 School Social Worker Amendments · Did not pass
- S.B. 320 School-based Food Pantry Amendments · Did not pass
What they've said lately
All 77 →H.B. 89 Use of Polygraph Amendments · Senate floor debate (day 44) · Mar 5, 2026
Asks whether the amendment would allow police or prosecutors to ask or require suspects of sexual assault to take polygraphs.
▶ Watch at 52:02Read what they said
Thank you Mr. President. Um, for the amendment, are we going to ask or acquire suspects of sexual assault, uh, to take polygraphs?
H.B. 337 Nicotine Product Tax Amendments · Senate floor debate (day 44) · Mar 5, 2026
Supports the bill, citing a sibling who started smoking as a teen and concern about young people's access to tobacco.
▶ Watch at 2:04:35Read what they said
Thank you Mr. President. I rise in support of this bill. I think if we're gonna tax something, it should be something that is harming us and our kids. And, um, I have a sibling who started smoking when they were in middle school and if it was more expensive and harder for them to access, maybe they wouldn't have been smoking for 20 years by now. And, um, I worry about my own young children and their ability to, um, stay away from these harmful substances and I think we should continue to make access to them more difficult for our young people. Thank you.
S.J.R. 17 Resolution Encouraging Innovation in Legislative Analysis and Information Services · Senate Judiciary, Law Enforcement, and Criminal Justice Committee · Mar 4, 2026
Presented SJR 17, which encourages other state departments to explore responsible use of AI, building on the LRGC pilot tool that helps write plain-language bill summaries and analyses. Asked whether there was public testimony and then paused for committee action.
▶ Watch at 40:05Read what they said
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Um, this resolution is just encouraging, um, other departments to follow the lead of LRGC. Um, they've been working on a small pilot program, um, to create a tool that helps, um, the analysts use AI to make, um, better bill summaries and analyses that are written in more plain language for constituents to understand. Um, this is something that they've been working on for a while. It is, it has oversight from the department and, um, this just encourages other departments within the state government to explore ways to responsibly use ai. That coll collegiate presentation it does. That was actually much faster than I thought it was gonna be. Oh, okay. So a good …
Town halls, questionnaires, and attendance
Candidate questionnaires
- ✓ Answered: Salt Lake Tribune 2026 candidate survey
Town halls
None confirmed yet. Most town halls are announced on Facebook, which we can't search, so this list is incomplete. Held or went to one? Send the link to ontherecordutah@gmail.com and we'll add it.
Floor votes missed
80 of 1080 (7%)
Typical member: 8% of floor votes
We list only town halls and questionnaires we can confirm from a public source, so a short list doesn't mean Sen. Emily Buss hasn't met with voters. A missed vote can have a good reason, such as illness or a family emergency.
Hear from them directly
Contact Sen. Emily Buss
- Email: ebuss@le.utah.gov
- Phone: 801-598-4734
- Office: 350 N State Street, Suite 320, Salt Lake City, UT, 84114
Constituents get priority, so say you live in their district. Writing about a specific bill? Open it and use Take action for a ready-to-send message.
Watch or join a meeting
Every committee hearing and floor session is open to the public and streamed live on le.utah.gov. Each committee's agenda has the link to watch or join online, and how to sign up for public comment.
Emily Buss serves on:
- General Government Appropriations Subcommittee
- Social Services Appropriations Subcommittee
- Political Subdivisions Interim Committee
- Transportation Interim Committee
- Senate Government Operations Confirmation Committee
- Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee
- Senate Health and Human Services Committee
About
- In office since
- December 17, 2025
- Counties
- Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah
- Profession
- Executive Director and Social Service Worker
- Affiliations
- Utah Nonprofits Association (member), Valley Crossroads Chamber (member), Eagle Mountain City Public Library Advisory Board, Birthday Box Foundation Chairman of the Board, The Wellness Farm Foundation Advisory Board.
- Education
- Bachelor's, Brigham Young University - Idaho
- Honors and awards
- Utah Philanthropy Day Heart & Hands Award, 2025 Nonprofit of the Year, Elevate Business Impact Award, Executive Director and Founder recipient of 100 Companies Championing Women (2025 cohort)
- ebuss@le.utah.gov
Money and conflicts of interest
- Campaign finance reports (who donated to their campaign, from the Lt. Governor's disclosure site)
- No conflict-of-interest disclosure is linked in their official profile.
Coming next: their top donors and disclosed interests shown next to the related votes.
Profile details come from the Utah Legislature's official legislator data.