Senate Bill 1690
# Senate Bill 1690

The bill to amend the Act of March 1, 1933, to transfer certain authority and resources to the Utah Dineh Corporation., and for other purposes (S. 1690). This bill was introduced on the Senate floor by Rep. Robert Bennett (R-UT) on 21 September 2009. It was referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs. On December 9, 2009 Senate Committee on Indian Affairs held hearing 111-538. No further action was taken by the Committee.

## Background

During the 2008 General Session of the Utah Legislature, House Bill 352 was passed which recognized the repeal of the Utah Navajo Trust Fund.

The bill moved responsibility to fulfill the liabilities and obligations of the repealed Utah Navajo Trust Fund to the Department of Administrative Services and provided for a transition process until Congress designates a new recipient of Utah Navajo royalties.

## Reactions

US Senator Robert Bennett's position was sympathetic to The Navajos residing in San Juan County since they are his constituents.

According to him, in 2008 he had received resolutions from six of the seven Utah Navajo Chapters (the seventh chapter has fewer than fifty members residing in Utah) endorsing the idea of designating a new trustee as long as that trustee is not the Navajo Nation. The response to his question of why the Utah Navajo did not want the Navajo Nation to serve as trustee was that they believe the Navajo Nation will use the Utah Navajo Trust Fund for purposes other than what the 1933 Act and 1968 amendments require.

Senator Bennett went on the state that, "I represent their interests as Utahns in the United States Senate and share their desire to grant them the ability to determine their own future, I agreed to work with them in resolving this problem."

The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs heard testimony December 9, 2010 on the proposed amendment. Kenneth Maryboy, a Navajo Nation Council delegate representing Utah Navajos, testified that the Navajo Nation has previously "failed to be a competent trustee for Utah Navajos, Congress must not now abandon Utah Navajos by ignoring the history of neglect, unaccountability and malfeasance that the Navajo Nation continues to demonstrate," said Maryboy, a member of the Board of Directors of the Utah Dineh Corporation.

According to San Juan County Commissioner-Elect Phil Lymann, he has stated that "This is an important bill for the Utah Navajos. Utah Dineh Corporation is a well established entity with tremendous potential for effectively developing one of the most underserved areas of the United States. By returning control of this asset to its owners, the Utah Navajos, Senator Bennett will effectively restore hope for real economic development on the Utah Strip of the Navajo Reservation. 100 years of handouts, coupled with tribal, state, and federal politics has certainly not done the job."

The Vice President Ben Shelly testified that the Navajo Nation rightfully should be the trust fund trustee. He said the Navajo Nation is adamantly opposed to Senate Bill 1690.

Vice President Shelly told the committee that the Navajo Nation would be an accountable, responsible, and transparent trustee in the Utah Navajo Trust Fund. He said "that in the 30 years of administrating the current Utah Navajo Trust Fund, the Navajo Nation has never breached its fiduciary responsibility to the trust fund."

