H.C.R. 4 Enrolled
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9 LONG TITLE
10 General Description:
11 This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor recognizes 20 years of
12 successful leadership, management, and accomplishment by the Utah School and
13 Institutional Trust Lands Administration.
14 Highlighted Provisions:
15 This resolution:
16 . recognizes the 20th anniversary of the School and Institutional Trust Lands
17 Administration; and
18 . expresses support for the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration's
19 leadership and management on behalf of its 12 beneficiaries.
20 Special Clauses:
21 None
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23 Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
24 WHEREAS, in 1994, the Legislature of the state of Utah, recognizing the potential of
25 Utah's 3.4 million acres of surface trust land and an additional 1.1 million acres of mineral trust
26 land to better serve the 12 state institutions authorized by the United States Congress in 1894,
27 created the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration (SITLA) as an independent
28 state agency;
29 WHEREAS, the Legislature of the state of Utah structured SITLA as a self-funded
30 agency, with no taxpayer or general fund support for its operations;
31 WHEREAS, SITLA, consistent with its legal mandate, has managed its diverse land
32 portfolio by balancing short- and long-term benefits;
33 WHEREAS, in addition to its mandate to optimize and maximize trust land uses for
34 financial support of its beneficiaries over time, SITLA has been involved in numerous
35 transactions and projects that have preserved, protected, and improved more than 500,000 acres
36 of land, an area equivalent to the combined acreage of Arches, Zion, Bryce Canyon, and
37 Capitol Reef national parks;
38 WHEREAS, SITLA works to find federal, state, and private exchange partners with
39 which to improve its land position by acquiring land more suitable for development, as well as
40 preserving and protecting important properties;
41 WHEREAS, the total asset value of Utah's school and institutional trust land
42 beneficiary funds rose from $86 million in 1994 to $1.73 billion in fiscal year 2013 largely due
43 to SITLA's efforts;
44 WHEREAS, the percentage growth of these permanent funds in Utah has surpassed all
45 other states in the last 20 years;
46 WHEREAS, SITLA's contributions to the state's permanent funds, particularly the
47 Permanent School Fund, has resulted in annual distributions now averaging $40,000 to each
48 K-12 public school, which is the only discretionary funding these schools receive; and
49 WHEREAS, it is anticipated that the growth of the respective permanent funds and
50 annual distributions to its beneficiaries will become even more significant over time:
51 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
52 Governor concurring therein, recognizes the 20th anniversary of the School and Institutional
53 Trust Lands Administration.
54 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor express support
55 for the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration's leadership and management on
56 behalf of its 12 beneficiaries.
57 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be sent to the State Board
58 of Education; the College of Mines at the University of Utah; Miners Hospital at the University
59 of Utah Medical Center; the Division of Water Resources; the Utah School for the Deaf and the
60 Blind; the Utah State Hospital; the University of Utah; Utah State University; the Division of
61 Juvenile Justice Services; the Division of Facilities Construction and Management; the
62 Colleges of Education at the University of Utah and Dixie State; Southern Utah, Utah State,
63 Utah Valley, and Weber State universities; and the director of the Utah School and Institutional
64 Trust Lands Administration.
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