South Dakota ballot measure · November 3, 2026
South Dakota Constitutional Amendment K, explained
Trust for unclaimed property fund. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.
The official wordingWhat appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.
Title: An Amendment to the South Dakota Constitution Establishing the Trust for Unclaimed Property Fund. Attorney General Explanation: Under South Dakota statute, intangible property is presumed to be abandoned if it remains unclaimed by the owner for more than three years after it became payable or distributable. Examples of intangible property are traveler's checks, money orders, bank deposits, refunds, stocks, funds owed under a life insurance policy, and property held in a safe deposit box. Abandoned intangible property is transferred to the State Treasurer to hold while waiting for the owner to claim it. The State Treasurer must provide public notice of the abandoned property. This proposed constitutional amendment establishes a trust fund where unclaimed abandoned property will be deposited. Portions of the interest and income from this fund will be distributed into the general fund for the benefit of the state. This proposed amendment requires the Legislature to determine the amount to be distributed that promotes the growth of the trust fund and the distributed amount. Vote "Yes" to adopt the amendment. Vote "No" to leave the Constitution as it is.
What it actually means
When a bank account, refund, insurance payout or safe deposit box goes unclaimed for three years, the money is handed to the State Treasurer, who holds it and publishes notice so the owner can claim it. Today the state can move that money into the general fund and spend it, and it currently leans on roughly $60 million a year of it to balance the budget. This amendment would instead put the money into a permanent constitutional trust fund, invested by the State Investment Council, and let the state spend only part of the investment income each year. Claims would still be paid in full out of the fund.
If you vote YES
- A "trust for unclaimed property fund" would be created in the state treasury, and net receipts from unclaimed property would be deposited into it rather than spent.
- From July 1, 2027, the State Treasurer would pay a share of the fund's interest and income into the general fund each year, with the formula set by law and required to "promote growth of the trust fund and a steadily growing distribution amount."
- The principal could not be touched for anything else except to pay claims, to return property required by law to be returned, or on a three-fourths vote of every member elected to each house of the Legislature.
- The State Investment Council would invest the fund in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and other instruments, as it does South Dakota's other permanent trusts.
- For anyone claiming their own property back, nothing changes — claims are paid ahead of any deposit into the fund.
If you vote NO
- Unclaimed property stays under the current statutory system: the Treasurer holds it, and after a year it can be converted into general fund revenue and spent.
- The roughly $60 million a year the state currently draws from unclaimed property would continue to be available for the annual budget rather than being locked into a trust.
- The Legislature would keep the power to change how unclaimed property money is handled by ordinary statute, without asking voters.
- Owners could still claim their property at any time through the Treasurer's Unclaimed Property Program, which is unaffected either way.
The numbers that matter
- Unclaimed property received by the state, 2024
- About $175 million
- Paid back to owners, 2024
- $38 million to 6,768 claimants
- Annual general fund reliance on unclaimed property
- About $60–65 million
- Legislative vote to refer the amendment
- Senate 35-0, House 69-0
State Treasurer's Unclaimed Property Division figures, reported by South Dakota Searchlight
State Treasurer's Unclaimed Property Division figures, reported by South Dakota Searchlight
Figure given by Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen during the legislative debate
South Dakota Legislature, Senate Joint Resolution 505 (2025)
What each side says0 for, 0 against — quoted, not summarised
Why supporters say YES
We found none published in the sources reviewed.
Why opponents say NO
We found none published in the sources reviewed.
What's genuinely uncertain
- No argument is shown here for either side. Amendment K passed the Senate 35-0 and the House 69-0, and the Secretary of State's office could not find anyone willing to write the opposing statement for the official pamphlet, which prints "No statement provided" where the "con" argument would be. Rather than print a case for the amendment with nothing against it, this page shows neither. The proponent statement was written by State Treasurer Josh Haeder; Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen carried the bill.
- How much the state would actually receive each year from the trust is not fixed by the amendment — the distribution formula is left to the Legislature, and the amendment only requires that it promote growth of the fund.
- The transition is not spelled out in the constitutional text. Lt. Gov. Venhuizen has described a plan to ramp the budget's reliance on unclaimed property down over several years, but that plan sits in statute, not in the amendment.
- No fiscal note was printed for this measure in the Secretary of State's pamphlet.
The bottom line
Whether unclaimed property money should be spent as it arrives, as it is now, or locked into a permanent invested trust that pays the state only its earnings — a steadier long-run revenue source bought by giving up roughly $60 million a year of budget flexibility.
One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.
Sources (3)The numbers in the text above link here
- 12026 Ballot Question Pamphlet — South Dakota Secretary of State — sdsos.gov
- 2South Dakota Constitutional Amendment K, Creation of Unclaimed Property Trust Fund Amendment (2026) — Ballotpedia — ballotpedia.org
- 3Theme of this year's South Dakota ballot issues: Let's make life tougher — South Dakota Searchlight — southdakotasearchlight.com
Checking it against the official text
The South Dakota Secretary of State publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at South Dakota Secretary of State.
Other measures on the South Dakota ballot
Candidates on the same ballot
- U.S. Senate election in South Dakota
- South Dakota governor's race
- South Dakota's at-large congressional district