Superseded 1/1/2025)

Superseded 1/1/2025
53F-9-201.  Uniform School Fund — Contents — Trust Distribution Account.

(1)  As used in this section:

Terms Used In Utah Code 53F-9-201

  • Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Land: includes :Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • Property: includes both real and personal property. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
  • United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
(a)  “Annual distribution calculation” means, for a given fiscal year, the average of:

(i)  4% of the average market value of the State School Fund for that fiscal year; and

(ii)  the distribution amount for the prior fiscal year, multiplied by the sum of:

(A)  one;

(B)  the percent change in student enrollment from the school year two years prior to the prior school year; and

(C)  the actual total percent change of the consumer price index during the last 12 months as measured in June of the prior fiscal year.

(b)  “Average market value of the State School Fund” means the results of a calculation completed by the SITFO director each fiscal year that averages the value of the State School Fund for the past 20 consecutive quarters ending in the prior fiscal year.

(c)  “Consumer price index” means the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items Less Food & Energy, as published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor.

(d)  “SITFO director” means the director of the School and Institutional Trust Fund Office appointed under Section 53D-1-401.

(e)  “State School Fund investment earnings distribution amount” or “distribution amount” means, for a fiscal year, the lesser of:

(i)  the annual distribution calculation; or

(ii)  4% of the average market value of the State School Fund.

(2)  The Uniform School Fund, a special revenue fund , established by Utah Constitution, Article X, Section 5, consists of:

(a)  distributions derived from the investment of money in the permanent State School Fund established by Utah Constitution, Article X, Section 5;

(b)  money transferred to the fund pursuant to Title 67, Chapter 4a, Revised Uniform Unclaimed Property Act; and

(c)  all other constitutional or legislative allocations to the fund, including:

(i)  appropriations for the Minimum School Program, enrollment growth, and inflation under Section 53F-9-201.1; and

(ii)  revenues received by donation.

(3) 

(a)  There is created within the Uniform School Fund a restricted account known as the Trust Distribution Account.

(b)  The Trust Distribution Account consists of:

(i)  in accordance with Subsection (4), quarterly deposits of the State School Fund investment earnings distribution amount from the prior fiscal year;

(ii)  all interest earned on the Trust Distribution Account in the prior fiscal year; and

(iii)  any unused appropriation for the administration of the School LAND Trust Program, as described in Subsection 53F-2-404(1)(c).

(4)  If, at the end of a fiscal year, the Trust Distribution Account has a balance remaining after subtracting the appropriation amount described in Subsection 53F-2-404(1)(a) for the next fiscal year, the SITFO director shall, during the next fiscal year, apply the amount of the remaining balance from the prior fiscal year toward the current fiscal year’s distribution amount by reducing a quarterly deposit to the Trust Distribution Account by the amount of the remaining balance from the prior fiscal year.

(5)  On or before October 1 of each year, the SITFO director shall:

(a)  in accordance with this section, determine the distribution amount for the following fiscal year; and

(b)  report the amount described in Subsection (5)(a) as the funding amount, described in Subsection 53F-2-404(1)(c), for the School LAND Trust Program, to:

(i)  the State Treasurer;

(ii)  the Legislative Fiscal Analyst;

(iii)  the Division of Finance;

(iv)  the director of the Land Trusts Protection and Advocacy Office, appointed under Section 53D-2-203;

(v)  the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration created in Section 53C-1-201;

(vi)  the state board; and

(vii)  the Governor’s Office of Planning and Budget.

(6)  The School and Institutional Trust Fund Board of Trustees created in Section 53D-1-301 shall:

(a)  annually review the distribution amount; and

(b)  make recommendations, if necessary, to the Legislature for changes to the formula for calculating the distribution amount.

(7)  Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the SITFO director shall place in the Trust Distribution Account funds for the School LAND Trust Program as described in Subsections 53F-2-404(1)(a) and (c).

Amended by Chapter 456, 2022 General Session

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