This bill clarifies the Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Office's role and implements distribution accountability requirements for non-public education trust beneficiaries.
This bill:
AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.
Utah's school and institutional trust lands — originally granted by the federal government to benefit public schools and state institutions like the University of Utah, Utah State Hospital, and others — generate revenue that is managed and distributed by state agencies, with an advocacy office representing beneficiaries' interests. This bill renames that office from the "Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Office" to the "School and Institutional Trust Beneficiaries' Advocacy Office" and restructures its governance, creating a seven-member Advocacy Council appointed by the trust boards, the state treasurer, and beneficiary representatives, with the state treasurer retaining authority to appoint the office's director from candidates the council nominates. It spells out in detail which officials represent each beneficiary (such as university presidents, hospital superintendents, and agency directors) and defines their rights and interests, while also updating the makeup of the nominating committees that recommend members for the trust land and trust fund boards. The bill further creates new accountability requirements for non-school institutional beneficiaries — such as universities and state hospitals — requiring them to track distributions and spending, develop annual spending plans approved by their governing bodies, invest or return any unspent trust funds beyond a set limit, and participate in compliance reviews by the advocacy office, with suspected fraud or repeated noncompliance referred to the state auditor.
Introduction
Jan 20
Senate Rules
Senate Committee
Skipped
Senate 2nd Reading
Jan 20
Senate 3rd Reading
Jan 20
House Rules
Jan 21
House Committee
Feb 2
House Floor Vote
Feb 5
Governor Signed
Mar 19
IntroductionJan 20
Senate Rules
Senate CommitteeSkipped
Senate 2nd ReadingJan 20
Senate 3rd ReadingJan 20
House RulesJan 21
House CommitteeFeb 2
House Floor VoteFeb 5
Governor SignedMar 19
This bill clarifies the Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Office's role and implements distribution accountability requirements for non-public education trust beneficiaries.
This bill:
AI-generated summary, not yet reviewed by Better Utah staff. Please consult the bill text.
Utah's school and institutional trust lands — originally granted by the federal government to benefit public schools and state institutions like the University of Utah, Utah State Hospital, and others — generate revenue that is managed and distributed by state agencies, with an advocacy office representing beneficiaries' interests. This bill renames that office from the "Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Office" to the "School and Institutional Trust Beneficiaries' Advocacy Office" and restructures its governance, creating a seven-member Advocacy Council appointed by the trust boards, the state treasurer, and beneficiary representatives, with the state treasurer retaining authority to appoint the office's director from candidates the council nominates. It spells out in detail which officials represent each beneficiary (such as university presidents, hospital superintendents, and agency directors) and defines their rights and interests, while also updating the makeup of the nominating committees that recommend members for the trust land and trust fund boards. The bill further creates new accountability requirements for non-school institutional beneficiaries — such as universities and state hospitals — requiring them to track distributions and spending, develop annual spending plans approved by their governing bodies, invest or return any unspent trust funds beyond a set limit, and participate in compliance reviews by the advocacy office, with suspected fraud or repeated noncompliance referred to the state auditor.
Motion: Favorable Recommendation
Governor Signed
Lieutenant Governor's office for filing
Senate/ to Governor
Executive Branch - Governor
Senate/ received enrolled bill from Printing
Senate Secretary
Senate/ enrolled bill to Printing
Senate Secretary
Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
Senate Secretary
Last updated Aug 29, 2026, 5:26 PM