§ 434. Investment of certain funds

(a)(1) A "Trust Investment Account" is hereby created to maximize the earnings of individual funds by associating them together for common investment.

(2) The Trust Investment Account may include:

(A) the whole or any part of individual trust funds resulting from court settlements, private bequests, grants, or other awards accepted in accordance with section 5 of this title, provided the terms thereof do not require a separate investment.

(B) the whole or any part of the funds created by express enactment of the General Assembly to finance particular or restricted programs that provide that only investment earnings of the fund shall be used for program purposes, including, the Vermont Higher Education Endowment Trust Fund established pursuant to 16 V.S.A. § 2885.

(C) any other funds which the State Treasurer identifies, in consultation with the Secretary of Administration, as appropriate for inclusion in the account.

(3) The State Treasurer may invest and reinvest the funds in the account, and hold, purchase, sell, assign, transfer, and dispose of the investments in accordance with the standard of care established by the prudent investor rule under 9 V.S.A. chapter 147. The Treasurer shall apply the same investment objectives and policies adopted by the Vermont State Employees' Retirement System, where appropriate, to the investment of funds in the Trust Investment Account.

(4) At reasonable intervals, but at least annually in June of each fiscal year, the Treasurer shall credit each individual fund in the Trust Investment Account with a pro rata share of the net income of the Account. The value of the individual funds transferred to or withdrawn from the Trust Investment Account shall be on the basis of the fair market value of the total funds of the Account at the time of the transfer or withdrawal. The Treasurer may withdraw monies from the Account as permitted or required by the terms of the individual funds or as required by acts of the General Assembly.

(5) Annually, the Treasurer shall prepare a report to the House Committee on Ways and Means and the Senate Committee on Finance on the financial activity of the Trust Investment Account. The provisions of 2 V.S.A. § 20(d) (expiration of required reports) shall not apply to the required report to be made under this subdivision.

(b) The State Treasurer may invest and reinvest the monies deposited into the Tobacco Litigation Settlement Fund established by section 435a of this title, and may hold, purchase, sell, assign, transfer and dispose of the investments in accordance with the standard of care established by the prudent investor rule under 9 V.S.A. chapter 147. (Added 1999, No. 66 (Adj. Sess.), § 60, eff. Feb. 8, 2000; amended 2003, No. 122 (Adj. Sess.), § 294e; 2011, No. 139 (Adj. Sess.), § 32, eff. May 14, 2012; 2015, No. 131 (Adj. Sess.), § 7.)