PIERRE, S.D. — After being subpoenaed to appear before the South Dakota Legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee, officials with the two agencies – that are the subject of the rare action taken by lawmakers – have refused to appear.
A lawyer representing the departments in question has asked a state judge to quash the subpoenas that call for Revenue Secretary Michael Houdyshell and Director of Motor Vechicles Rosa Yaeger to testify regarding alleged criminal behavior in their respective agencies.
A previously scheduled meeting to hear their testimony had been scheduled for December 11, 2024 but has now been canceled.
The legislative committee’s chair, Republican Rep. Ernie Otten told KELOLAND News that the meeting would be rescheduled for a later date, depending in part on the judge’s ruling regarding the subpoenas.
The Legislature rarely issues subpoenas compelling testimony.
And this latest development may be the first time that the executive branch has sought an order to quash a legislative subpoena.
The current situation has now become a showdown between the legislative branch and the administration of Republican Governor Kristi Noem.
Lawyers from the South Dakota Office of Attorney General are representing each side in the subpoena matter.
How individuals responsible for the operations of state agencies can refuse to appear to a subpoena is a question being asked. Republican Senator Lee Schoeneck who chairs the Legislature’s Executive Board and who is a lawyer, says that’s their job.
He refers to “a Chinese wall” that keeps communication separate in the office, a practice where one part of a firm or business operates independently of the other.
Governor Noem already has a history with the Legislature’s investigative committee.
An earlier version of the legislative panel spent months looking into Noem’s role regarding the state office of real-estate appraiser certification.
The office’s former director Sherry Bren received a $200,000 settlement from the Noem administration after her forced retirement.
One of Noem’s daughters had been trying to get her appraisal certificate upgraded. The legislative committee in 2021 issued subpoenas to Bren and state Labor Secretary Marcia Hultman.
The legislative committee has recently been looking into allegations that several Department of Revenue employees had engaged in wrong-doing involving vehicle-ownership titles.
One of those employees, Sandy O’Day, has since died, while two others have lost their jobs with the department and currently face criminal charges.
Cancellation of the December 11 meeting affects investigations into two other state departments.
Also scheduled to testify to the committee that day had been officials from the state Department of Social Services and the state Department of Human Services.
The committee sent letters to the two departments last month. One went to Social Services Secretary Matt Althoff.
A former Department of Social Services employee is criminally accused of stealing more than $1.7 million from the state Office of Child Protection Services. The alleged crimes were discovered after Lonna Carroll retired. Carroll has pleaded not-guilty and remains in jail.
The committee also wanted to hear from Human Services Secretary Shawnie Rechtenbaugh regarding closure of senior nutrition sites in western South Dakota.
The latest development comes just weeks after legislative elections and the leadership fights and committee appointments that immediately followed.
