# Utah S.B. 43: Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Office Amendments Utah S.B. 43, Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Office Amendments, is a 2026 General Session Senate bill sponsored by Derrin R. Owens (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-03-19 (Governor Signed) (as of 2026-10-19). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB43-2026GS - As of: 2026-10-19 - Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts. ## Facts - Bill: Utah S.B. 43 - State: Utah - Session: 2026 General Session - Title: Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Office Amendments - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2025-12-22 - Last action: 2026-03-19, Governor Signed - Sponsor: Derrin R. Owens (Republican) - Cosponsors: 1 - Subjects: Trust Lands, Education, K-12 Education - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 4 (102 yes, 3 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 7 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - New council oversees school trust advocates: benefit, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the advocacy council oversees the office, advises its director, and sets plans, rules, and management policies. It receives reports, reviews the director's pay and performance annually, and joins trustee-agency nominating committees. When the director's job is vacant, it int… - School trust advocates gain records access: benefit, low. The trust lands director must flag known major matters useful to advocates, allow reasonable access to relevant records and property, and answer questions in writing within a reasonable time. The advocacy office must preserve required confidentiality. Beginning July 1, 2026, the office, council, an… - School trust nominations gain investment expertise: benefit, low. The seven-member trust fund nominating committee gets a new membership structure. On the advocacy director's recommendation, the treasurer appoints four qualified investment or endowment professionals and one public-fund or public-university-endowment investment officer. The advocacy council chair… - Trust benefits limited to named institutions: cost, low. Utah trust lands are managed for the beneficiaries named in state law. Trust fund benefits and representation are limited to the schools and institutions listed in that law. Other institutions, agencies, the public at large, and the state's general welfare are excluded from the beneficiary group. T… - School trust council gets membership safeguards: mixed, low. Beginning July 1, 2026, the seven-member council includes trustee-board and treasurer appointees, a School LAND Trust staff member, and two council appointees approved by the treasurer. Members need strong trust-related qualifications and must commit time and loyalty to the trust. The treasurer, tr… - Schools get advocacy with limited powers: mixed, low. The law creates an advocacy office to represent trust beneficiaries with undivided loyalty and protect their rights and interests. Beneficiaries have rights to trust information, timely notices, lawful distributions, regular accounts, impartial treatment, and performance information. They can chall… - Treasurer oversees advocacy with legal protection: mixed, low. The treasurer must act in beneficiaries' interests, appoint and support the advocacy director, oversee the office, and check reporting compliance. The treasurer also submits the office budget to the Legislature. The treasurer may approve institutional distribution reductions through the law's proce… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Derrin R. Owens (Republican), Senate - Cosponsor: Burton, Jefferson S. ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-02-05 | House | House/ passed 3rd reading | pass | 67 | 3 | | | 2026-02-02 | House | House Comm - Favorable Recommendation | pass | 9 | 0 | | | 2026-01-20 | Senate | Senate/ floor amendment | fail | | | | | 2026-01-20 | Senate | Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension | pass | 26 | 0 | | ## Actions (28) - 2026-03-19: Governor Signed - 2026-03-13: Senate/ to Governor (Senate) - 2026-03-13: Senate/ received enrolled bill from Printing (Senate) - 2026-03-12: Senate/ enrolled bill to Printing (Senate) - 2026-03-12: Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate - 2026-02-09: Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared - 2026-02-09: Bill Received from Senate for Enrolling - 2026-02-05: Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrolling (Senate) - 2026-02-05: Senate/ received from House (Senate) - 2026-02-05: House/ to Senate (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to Senate (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ passed 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-05: House/ 3rd reading (House) - 2026-02-03: House/ 2nd reading (House) - 2026-02-03: House/ committee report favorable (House) - 2026-02-02: House Comm - Favorable Recommendation - 2026-01-28: House/ to standing committee (House) - 2026-01-21: House/ 1st reading (Introduced) (House) - 2026-01-21: House/ received from Senate (House) - 2026-01-20: Senate/ to House (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Senate/ floor amendment (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Senate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar (Senate) - 2026-01-20: Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced) (Senate) - 2026-01-13: Senate/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst (Senate) - 2026-01-07: Senate/ received bill from Legislative Research (Senate) - 2025-12-22: Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed ## Bill text - Enrolled, 2026-03-12: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/SB0043.pdf) - Amended 1/20/2026 16:01:293, 2026-01-20: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_SB0043_2026-01-20_16-13-01.pdf) - Introduced, 2025-12-22: [PDF](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0043.pdf) ## Related bills - H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments (signed) - H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments (signed) - H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments (signed) - H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments (signed) - H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments (signed) - H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments (signed) ## Sources - [Enrolled (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/enrolled/SB0043.pdf) - [Amended 1/20/2026 16:01:293 (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/amended/AV_SB0043_2026-01-20_16-13-01.pdf) - [Introduced (PDF)](https://le.utah.gov/Session/2026/bills/introduced/SB0043.pdf) ## Related - [H.B. 136: Unlicensed Driver Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB136-2026GS) - [H.B. 101: Firearm Background Check Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB101-2026GS) - [H.B. 134: Offender Transfer Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB134-2026GS) - [H.B. 178: School Zone Speeding Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB178-2026GS) - [H.B. 94: Criminal Accounts Receivable Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB94-2026GS) - [H.B. 220: Public Safety Data Amendments](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-HB220-2026GS) - [Utah bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah/bills) - [Utah state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/utah) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/UT-SB43-2026GS (as of 2026-10-19).