Seth Tupper and Meghan O’Brien/South Dakota Searchlight
South Dakota voters approved a ballot question Tuesday that will allow the state Investment Council to manage the money in an unclaimed property trust fund.
With 87% of the votes counted statewide by about 1:15 a.m. Central on Wednesday, 61% of the votes were in favor of Amendment K, and 39% were against it.
State lawmakers have begun transitioning unclaimed property proceeds into the fund and withdrawing only a portion each year to use in the state budget. The fund earns minimal interest, and lawmakers needed voter approval of Amendment K to place the fund under the management of the state Investment Council. The council will invest the money for higher returns, like it does for the state’s public employee retirement system and other trust funds benefiting schools, healthcare and the state budget.
State Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, sponsored a bill that state lawmakers unanimously approved to send Amendment K to voters, with the support of the state’s Bureau of Finance and Management and the State Treasurer’s Office.
“I’m just happy to see that it’s passing easily,” Howard said Tuesday evening. “I would have loved to have seen it be 100%, obviously. It did pass the Legislature unanimously. But just as long as it passes and we can earn more money for the citizens of the state, that’s what really matters.”
State Treasurer Josh Haeder also praised the outcome as it was becoming clear Tuesday night.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the people of South Dakota for showing their support for Amendment K and helping us, what looks like, getting across the finish line in a positive way,” Haeder said.
Unclaimed property consists of an array of abandoned or forgotten private assets, such as bank accounts, stocks, life insurance payouts, uncashed checks and the contents of safe deposit boxes. The property is transferred to the state after three years if banks or other holders can’t find the owners.
The state continues trying to connect owners with their property, including on a searchable website. Many of them never make a claim, and much of the unclaimed money formerly went into the state budget.
Annual unclaimed property receipts surged to new highs in recent years — including more than $300 million during the 2025 fiscal year — due to factors including a glut of private assets left behind during pandemic-motivated relocations and Bancorp moving its national headquarters to Sioux Falls.
With so much growth in unclaimed property, some state lawmakers began to worry about the size of the potential liability facing the state. Rightful owners or their heirs can claim their money at any time, even if the state has already spent it. State lawmakers approved two bills last year to protect the state against that liability and bring more predictability to the amount of unclaimed property revenue available for the state budget.
One of those bills became a state law transitioning all unclaimed property revenue into the trust fund and limiting the amount withdrawn to fund the state budget. The money in the fund is available for future claimants while also generating interest to be used for the state budget. The other bill sent Amendment K to the ballot seeking voter approval for the Investment Council to manage the fund.
No ballot-question committees materialized to raise or spend money for or against Amendment K, resulting in little to no campaigning on the ballot question.