In 2026, South Dakota voters will decide on a constitutional amendment to establish a trust fund for unclaimed property.

On March 5, 2025, the South Dakota House of Representatives voted 69-0 to place Senate Joint Resolution 505 (SJR 505) on the ballot. Previously, the State Senate voted 35-0 to pass the amendment on Feb. 20.

The amendment would create a trust fund for unclaimed property, requiring the state treasurer to deposit any unclaimed property funds into the trust fund after covering claims, expenses authorized by law, and designated deposits to the general fund.

Under the amendment, starting in July 2027 and then every year thereafter, the state treasurer would distribute a portion of the interest and income of the trust fund into the state general fund.

Lt. Gov. Tony Venhuizen, speaking in support of the amendment, said, “Currently, we rely on unclaimed property as an ongoing revenue source this year, $60 or $65 million. We don’t want to just blow a $60 million hole in the budget this year, so there’s a plan in that bill to ramp that reliance down over the next several years and transition so that these funds go into a trust fund available to pay claims.”

The constitutional amendment will join two amendments on the ballot that voters will also decide in 2026. Voters will also decide on an amendment to provide that noncitizens cannot vote in any elections in the state, as well as an amendment to condition state Medicaid expansion on federal funding remaining at or above 90%. Voters will decide these amendments on Nov. 3, 2026.