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South Dakota Trust Fund for Unclaimed Property Amendment (2020)
| South Dakota Trust Fund for Unclaimed Property Amendment | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Election date November 3, 2020 | |
| Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance | |
| Status Not on the ballot | |
| Type Constitutional amendment | Origin State legislature |
The South Dakota Trust Fund for Unclaimed Property Amendment was not on the ballot in South Dakota as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2020.
Measure design
The measure would have created the Trust Fund for Unclaimed Property in the state treasury to be invested in stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. Investment income would have been deposited into the general fund to be used strictly for property tax reduction purposes.[1]
Text of measure
Constitutional changes
- See also: Article XII, South Dakota Constitution
The measure would have added a new section, Section 8, to Article XII of the state constitution. The following underlined text would have been added:[2] Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.
§ 8. There is hereby created in the state treasury a trust fund named the trust fund for unclaimed property. Upon the conclusion of fiscal year 2021, and upon the conclusion of each fiscal year thereafter, the state treasurer shall, after paying all claims and any reasonable administrative costs associated with the sale of unclaimed property, deposit into the general fund the net receipts from unclaimed property, up to a maximum of forty million dollars.
Upon the conclusion of fiscal year 2022, and upon the conclusion of each fiscal year thereafter, the maximum amount of net receipts that the state treasurer may deposit into the general fund is reduced by five million dollars from the maximum amount applicable to the previous year, until the maximum amount of net receipts deposited into the general fund equal zero. Any net receipts from unclaimed property that exceed the maximum deposit requirements of this section shall be deposited by the state treasurer into the trust fund for unclaimed property. The South Dakota Investment Council, or its successor, shall invest the trust fund in stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and other financial instruments, as provided by law.
Beginning in fiscal year 2022, and each fiscal year thereafter, the state treasurer shall make a distribution from the interest and income of the trust fund for unclaimed property into the state general fund. The amount of the distribution shall be determined by law and shall be appropriated only for purposes of property tax reduction.
Neither the interest and income of the trust fund for unclaimed property nor its principal may be diverted for any other purpose, unless approved by a three-fourths vote of all the members-elect of each house of the Legislature or unless the state treasurer determines that such amounts are necessary for the payment of claims.[3]
Path to the ballot
- See also: Amending the South Dakota Constitution
In South Dakota, a constitutional amendment needs to be passed by a simple majority vote in both chambers of the state legislature to be certified for the ballot.
This amendment was introduced as House Joint Resolution 1003 on January 25, 2019. The measure was passed in the House on February 21, 2019, in a vote of 40 to 29 with one Republican Representative, Tony Randolph (R-35), excused. Two of 11 House Democrats, Michael Saba (D-9) and Oren Lesmeister (D-28A) voted yes. Thirty-eight Republicans voted yes while 20 voted no. Vote totals by party are displayed below. On March 4, 2019, the Senate Committee on Appropriations tabled the bill, killing it.[1]
| Vote in the South Dakota House of Representatives | |||
| Requirement: Simple majority vote of all members in each chamber | |||
Number of yes votes required: 36  | |||
| Yes | No | Not voting | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 40 | 29 | 1 |
| Total percent | 57.14% | 41.42% | 1.42% |
| Democrat | 2 | 9 | 0 |
| Republican | 38 | 20 | 1 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 South Dakota Legislature, "House Joint Resolution 1003," accessed February 25, 2019
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedag - ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source.
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