An Amendment to the South Dakota Constitution Establishing the Trust for Unclaimed Property Fund.
Pro/con statements extracted by cropping the two pamphlet columns; attribution = final signature line of each statement.
No official fiscal note for legislatively referred amendments in the pamphlet.
Pamphlet prints “No statement provided” for the Con side of Amendment K.
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.
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.
Not published by the state
Vote YES on Amendment K Amendment K is a win-win for all South Dakotans. If voters approve it, unclaimed property dollars will be held in a permanent trust fund. The interest those dollars earn becomes a new permanent source of state revenue for roads, schools, and other public services without raising taxes. Unclaimed funds like forgotten bank accounts, refunds, and insurance proceeds stay protected for their rightful owners. Amendment K also delivers stronger returns. Today, those dollars sit in a temporary fund earning only 3 to 4 %. Our other state trust funds, managed by the South Dakota Investment Council are doing considerably better; School and Public Lands at 8.3 % and Education Enhancement at 7.9 %. Voting yes puts unclaimed property dollars in the same hands. Unreturned dollars go into the permanent trust fund and stay there, so when a rightful owner comes forward, the money is still there to pay the claim in full. Only interest earned each year goes to the Legislature, which gives the state a steady source of revenue without costing claimants or taxpayers a thing. For anyone claiming property through the State Treasurer's Unclaimed Property Program, nothing changes. It keeps returning money to rightful owners just as it always has. What changes is the protection behind those dollars. Pass Amendment K, and that protection is permanent. Vote it down, and the Legislature can change the law whenever it likes and spend whatever isn't claimed, just as it could under the old system. Amendment K follows the proven model of South Dakota's other permanent trusts managed by the Investment Council, and it asks nothing of anyone. Vote YES to protect unclaimed property dollars permanently, put them to work for stronger returns, and give the state a stable source of revenue without a single new tax.
Josh Haeder State Treasurer
Not published by the state
Both columns use the same layout. Text is quoted from the official state guide. Views expressed belong to the argument authors.