Gov. Kristi Noem credit card secrecy prompts lawsuit

The Dakota Scout files litigation against state auditor after records request denial

The Dakota Scout is asking a judge to order the release of state credit card records that document how South Dakota governors spent taxpayer dollars.

The lawsuit against state Auditor Rich Sattgast, whose office is the custodian of the records, seeks the release of credit card statements, invoices and receipts related to the state-issued credit cards that both Govs. Kristi Noem and Dennis Daugaard used. The credit cards were issued in the names of Daugaard and Noem, and in Noem’s case, she uses two credit cards.

The Dakota Scout requested the records from Sattgast’s office in May. He denied the request in June and a request for reconsideration of the denial in July.

South Dakota state law presumes that government documents are open to public inspection, especially those regarding the use of taxpayer funds. But in his denial, Sattgast cited exemptions in the law that allow government officials to withhold records related to cyber security plans, guard schedules, blue prints, lock combinations and public safety information “that would create a substantial likelihood of endangering public safety or property.”

He also cited a provision related to keeping records closed that could otherwise endanger the life or safety of a person, also noting that exempt records belonging to a governor can only be released upon death or 10 years after leaving office.

Let’s eat: Scout subscribers in running for choice South Dakota-raised beef

But with regard to credit card records, those would never be available in 10 years because the state only keeps those records for seven years. Due to that archiving schedule, the Auditor’s Office has only one year of Daugaard’s records – his last in office.

In its lawsuit, the newspaper argues that state law requires government officials “liberally construe” the release of spending records, including “subdivision fiscal records, audit, warrant, voucher, invoice, purchase order, requisition, payroll, check, receipt, or other record of receipt, cash, or expenditure involving public funds is involved in order that the citizens of this state shall have the full right to know of and have full access to information on the public finances of the government and the public bodies and entities created to serve them.”

The decision to withhold the records “cannot be reconciled with or defended under the South Dakota Constitution, South Dakota’s public records laws, the common law, or even the State of South Dakota government’s official ‘commitment to transparency’ policy,” the lawsuit says.

The filing, made in Hughes County Court, also notes that state law allows officials to redact sensitive information from otherwise public documents.

Sattgast did not respond to a request for comment. 

While his office did not release the records that would have shown what the governors used their state-issued cards to buy, it did release monthly aggregates that each governor charged. Those showed Daugaard charged $50,850.11 in his final year in office. Noem spent nearly $650,000 from the time she took office in January 2019 through April of this year. In the first four months of 2024, she charged $75,772.07.

The Dakota Scout is represented by Sioux Falls lawyer Jon Arneson. A specialist in First Amendment and government sunshine law, Arneson credited the newspaper for pushing for government accountability.

“Permitting government—one belonging to and serving the public—to deny public record access for specious, spurious or dubious reasons is a recipe for secrecy and ignorance. The Dakota Scout has brought this action to combat secrecy and ignorance,” he said.