Navajo Trust Fund Amendments

5
51-10-202
51-10-204
1
Navajo Trust Fund Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Christine F. Watkins
Senate Sponsor: Ronald M. Winterton
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill addresses the Navajo Trust Fund.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
changes frequency of board meetings and reporting to the board by the trust administrator;
exempts certain investment activities from government records provisions;
modifies certain annual reporting requirements; and
makes technical and conforming amendments.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
51-10-202
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, Chapter 382
51-10-204
, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 319
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
51-10-202
is amended to read:
51-10-202
. Board of trustees of the fund -- Trust administrator -- Investment
activities.
(1)
(a)
There is created a board of trustees of the fund composed of the following three
members:
(i)
the state treasurer;
(ii)
the director of the Division of Finance; and
(iii)
the director of the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget or the director's
designee.
(b)
The state treasurer is chair of the board.
(c)
Three members of the board is a quorum.
(d)
A member may not receive compensation or benefits for the member's service, but
may receive per diem and travel expenses in accordance with:
(i)
Section
63A-3-106
;
(ii)
Section
63A-3-107
; and
(iii)
rules made by the Division of Finance pursuant to Sections
63A-3-106
and
63A-3-107
.
(2)
(a)
The board shall:
(i)
contract with a person to act as trust administrator in accordance with
Title 63G,
Chapter 6a, Utah Procurement Code
, and when not provided for by this chapter,
define the trust administrator's duties; or
(ii)
if unable to find a qualified person under Subsection
(2)(a)(i)
to act as trust
administrator for a reasonable cost, hire a qualified person to act as trust
administrator and, when not provided for in this chapter, define the trust
administrator's duties.
(b)
If the board hires a trust administrator under Subsection
(2)(a)(ii)
, the board may hire
or authorize the trust administrator to hire other persons necessary to assist the trust
administrator and the board to perform the duties required by this chapter.
(3)
The board shall:
(a)
on behalf of the state, act as trustee of the fund and exercise the state's fiduciary
responsibilities;
(b)
meet at least
once every other month
quarterly
;
(c)
review and approve
the policies, projections, rules, criteria, procedures, forms,
standards, and performance goals
a policy, projection, rule, criteria, procedure, form,
standard, or performance goal
established by the trust administrator;
(d)
review and approve the fund budget prepared by the trust administrator;
(e)
review
the progress reports from programs
a progress report from a program

financed by the fund;
(f)
review
a
financial
records
record
of the fund, including
a
fund
receipts,
expenditures, and investments
receipt, expenditure, or investment
; and
(g)
do any other thing necessary to perform the state's fiduciary obligations under the
fund.
(4)
The attorney general shall:
(a)
act as legal counsel and provide legal representation to the board; and
(b)
attend or direct an attorney from the attorney general's office to attend each meeting
of the board.
(5)
The board may consult with knowledgeable state personnel to advise the board on
policy and technical matters.
(6)
A record of information relating to an investment activity of the fund is exempt from
Title 63G, Chapter 2, Government Records Access and Management Act.
Section 2. Section
51-10-204
is amended to read:
51-10-204
. Trust administrator duties.
(1)
Under the direction of the board, the trust administrator shall:
(a)
review the documents and decisions highlighting the history of the fund, including:
(i)
the Nelson report, prepared as part of the Bigman v. Utah Navajo Development
Council, Inc. C77-0031;
(ii)
the November 1991 performance audit of the fund by the legislative auditor
general;
(iii)
Sakezzie v. Utah Indian Affairs Commission, 198 F. Supp. 218 (1961);
(iv)
Sakezzie v. Utah Indian Affairs Commission, 215 F. Supp. 12 (1963);
(v)
the September 8, 1977, consent decree, the stipulation dated November 29, 1984,
modifying the consent decree, and the court's memorandum opinion dated
September 25, 1978, in Bigman v. Utah Navajo Development Council, Inc.
C77-0031; and
(vi)
rulings related to Pelt v. Utah;
(b)
review
all
the
potential sources of fund revenues;
(c)
prepare
an
annual
projections
projection
of money that will be available for
a
Navajo
programs
program
;
(d)
identify the property owned by the fund;
(e)
establish and maintain a record system and retention schedule to retain
records
a
record
relating to the fund's property and operations, including:
(i)
records
a record
related to the ethics and conflict policy developed under
Subsection
(2)(c)
;
(ii)
requests for proposals and proposals
a request for proposal and a proposal

received;
(iii)
contracts
a contract
awarded;
(iv)
project progress and
a
completion
reports
report
;
(v)
invoices
an invoice
; and
(vi)
a
purchasing
records
record
;
(f)
review
the
an
existing and proposed
programs
program
financed by the fund;
(g)
evaluate whether
the programs
a program
described in Subsection
(1)(f)

are
is
the
most practical and cost-efficient means to provide the desired benefit to Navajos;
(h)
consult regularly with the
administrators of the programs financed by the fund to
obtain progress reports on the programs
administrator of a program financed by the
fund to obtain a progress report on the program
;
(i)
attend
all
the
meetings of:
(i)
the Din
Advisory Committee; and
(ii)
the board;
(j)
certify that
the expenditures
an expenditure
of the fund:
(i)
comply
complies
with the state's fiduciary responsibilities as trustee of the fund;
and
(ii)
are
is
consistent with this section;
(k)
make an annual report:
(i)
to the:
(A)
board;
(B)
governor; and
(C)
Native American Legislative Liaison Committee, created in Section
36-22-1
;
and
(ii)
that:
(A)
identifies the source and amount of the revenue received by the fund;
(B)
identifies the recipient, purpose, and amount of the expenditures from the fund;
(C)
identifies
specifically each of the fund's investments and the actual return and
the rate of return from each investment
investment categories and the rate of
return of each category of investment
; and
(D)
recommends any necessary statutory changes to improve administration of the
fund or to protect the state from liability as trustee;
(l)
submit a written annual report to the:
(i)
Division of Indian Affairs;
(ii)
Navajo Nation;
(iii)
United States Bureau of Indian Affairs; and
(iv)
United States Secretary of the Interior;
(m)
establish, in conjunction with the state treasurer and the Division of Finance,
appropriate accounting practices for the fund receipts, expenditures, and investments
according to generally accepted accounting principles;
(n)
provide
a
summary
records
record
of fund receipts, expenditures, and investments
to the board and to the Din
Advisory Committee at each
of their meetings
meeting
of the board or Din
Advisory Committee
;
(o)
pay
an
administrative
expenses
expense
from the fund;
(p)
report
monthly
quarterly
to the board about:
(i)
the trust administrator's activities; and
(ii)
the status of the fund; and
(q)
call
an
additional
meetings
meeting
of the Din
Advisory Committee when necessary.
(2)
In conjunction with the Din
Advisory Committee and under the direction of the board,
the trust administrator shall:
(a)
before the beginning of each fiscal year, establish a list of the needs of Navajos for
that year to be used for the annual budget;
(b)
before the beginning of each fiscal year, develop and approve an annual budget for
the fund;
(c)
develop an ethics and conflict of interest policy that emphasizes the need to avoid
even the appearance of conflict of interest or impropriety that is to apply to:
(i)
the trust administrator;
(ii)
the trust administrator's staff; and
(iii)
the Din
Advisory Committee;
(d)
require the trust administrator, each of the trust administrator's staff, and each
member of the Din
Advisory Committee to sign and keep on file written
documentation that acknowledges:
(i)
their
receipt of the ethics and conflict of interest policy described in Subsection
(2)(c)
; and
(ii)
their
willingness to abide by the ethics and conflict of interest policy described
in Subsection
(2)(c)
; and
(e)
make expenditures from the fund:
(i)
"for the health, education, and general welfare of the Navajo Indians residing in
San Juan County" as required by:
(A)
Pub. L. No. 72-403, 47 Stat. 1418 (1933);
(B)
Pub. L. No. 90-306, 82 Stat. 121 (1968); and
(C)
this chapter; and
(ii)
including expenditure for roads and utilities.
(3)
The trust administrator, under direction of the board, may:
(a)
contract with
public and private entities
a public or private entity
; and
(b)
unless prohibited by law or this chapter, acquire and hold money and other property
received in the administration of the fund.
Section 3.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-10-26 8:54 AM