‘It’s a game changer,’ says beneficiary of money Amendment B will bring
Nov 8, 2024, 6:04 PM | Updated: 7:01 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — It’s all but certain Utah voters will pass Amendment B, and some of the beneficiaries are calling it a game changer.
Amendment B raises the cap on the money allowed to be pulled out from state trust lands. Utah has tens of thousands of acres of land designated state trust lands where investments from things like mining or leasing help generate revenue for state institutions like public schools and higher education.
Voters approved raising the $3.3 billion State School Fund endowment to between 4% and 5%.
The College of Mines and Earth Sciences at the University of Utah is one of the direct beneficiaries.
“This really is a game changer for us as a beneficiary of the state land trust system,” said the college’s dean, Peter Trapa. “This allows more resources to come to our programs in mining, engineering, metallurgical engineering, and geological engineering.”
Many of his students research critical minerals extracted in Utah.
“Lithium, cobalt, other rare earth elements, these are needed in sometimes small, very, very small quantities, sometimes in larger quantities. And they’re the they’re absolutely essential for a big part of modern electronics,” Trapa said.
With Amendment B’s passage, about a half a million dollars is set to come their way. Trapa said they can now do more research and outreach and help Utah students get more secure jobs.
“These programs support our extractive industries in the state of Utah. They allow us to provide a world-class education to students to fill workforce needs that are vital in those industries.”
One of the labs of The College of Mines and Earth Sciences at the University of Utah. (KSL TV)
Utah’s public schools get the biggest chunk
Utah’s public schools are the major beneficiaries of state trust lands. They are estimated to receive an extra $14 million, which the State Board of Education distributes, but local school community councils, made up of parents and school staff, decide how to spend the money.
“Utah schools will see an increase in distributions from 4% to 5% of the endowment beginning in the 2026-2027 school year,” stated Paula Plant, director of the School LAND Trust Section at the Utah State Board of Education.
Utah law requires distributions to be set a year in advance, allowing school councils time to plan effectively. Plant said the funds for the 2025-2026 school year have already been determined.
Other institutions that will get money include:
- Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind
- University of Utah and its College of Mines & Earth Sciences
- Utah State University
- Colleges of Education at the University of Utah, Utah Tech University, Southern Utah University, Utah State University, Utah Valley University, and Weber State University
- Miners Hospital at the University of Utah Health
- Utah State Hospital
- Juvenile Justice and Youth Services
- State Reservoirs, administered by the Utah Division of Water Resources
Trapa said he’s thankful voters saw the need.
“We are very grateful to the people of Utah, very grateful to the state of Utah for continuing to invest in the state land trust system,” Trapa said.
State Treasurer Marlo Oaks manages the portfolio and distributes the money. He, too, was grateful for the voters’ decision.
“This is, I think, the absolutely the right thing to do from a, from a fiduciary standpoint. We are giving more money today, but that does not harm the future beneficiaries at all. It just simply helps today’s beneficiaries, given the outstanding performance of the land and the investment portfolio,” Oaks said.
