The Native American Legislative Liaison Committee on Nov. 20 voted to favorably recommend proposed amendments to the Utah Navajo Trust Fund that would change board meeting frequency, clarify investment reporting, and exempt certain investment records from GRAMA.

Patricia Owen, legislative counsel, summarized three principal changes: move the board meeting frequency to quarterly (from every other month), exempt certain investment records from the Government Records Access and Management Act (GRAMA), and modify annual reporting to the committee and governor so it references categories of investments rather than reporting each specific investment.

State Treasurer Marlo Oakes, chair of the Utah Navajo Trust Fund, said the bill is a ‘‘simple cleanup’’ intended to preserve transparency while protecting investment strategies and beneficiaries. ‘‘Other parts of Utah code already exempt this investment level information from GRAMA and public meetings to protect the fund,’’ Oakes said, and the proposed amendments bring the UNTF statute into alignment with those protections.

Curtis Unito, an online public commenter, asked whether the amendments had been presented to Navajo community members at a public hearing and expressed concern that community members feel they had not had an opportunity for input. Oakes replied that spending decisions are driven locally by chapters while asset management oversight sits with the treasurer’s office; he said the draft is a statutory cleanup to avoid revealing sensitive manager-level details that could harm the fund’s ability to hire desired managers.

Procedure: Representative Watkins moved that the committee favorably recommend the draft amendments; the committee approved the motion by unanimous voice vote.

Why it matters: The changes affect how the Navajo Trust Fund balances transparency and confidentiality for investment management, and committee members and public commenters asked about avenues for community input and continued local involvement in spending decisions.