Noem's state credit card spending kept secret

In denying request, Auditor Rich Sattgast says records aren't public for 10 years; even though documents destroyed after seven years

South Dakota Auditor Rich Sattgast is refusing to turn over state credit card records for Govs. Kristi Noem and Dennis Daugaard, contending it would compromise their personal safety. 

Sattgast, responding to a public records request by The Dakota Scout, cited a provision in state law when arguing the records can only be released after they no longer exist.  

The request, denied June 20, sought bank statements, invoices and receipts for all purchases made by Noem and Daugaard on their state-issued credit cards. Purchases made on their cards are reimbursed with taxpayer funds.

NEWS: Leonard Peltier denied bid for parole in Pine Ridge murders

Rather than turn over the bank statements, Sattgast provided monthly totals spent by the governors – although for Daugaard, only his 2018 expenditures, his final year in office – are still on file. State agencies can destroy credit card statements that are seven years old, meaning those records don’t exist after a statutorily outlined 10-year time period when records of a governor must be released to the public.

Though only one year of credit card spending by Daugaard was provided, the statements and sources of The Scout reveal Noem’s office has outpaced her predecessor in credit card spending. 

The monthly totals show that Noem spent nearly $650,000 from the time she took office in 2019 through April of this year.

Daugaard charged $50,850.11 on his state-issued Citibank card in 2018. In every year since she took office, Noem has exceeded that amount. In her first year in office, she spent $73,040.89.

Daugaard served as governor from 2011 to the start of 2019. Credit card statements shielded from the public would provide details about how and where the credit cards were used. 

Many expenses charged on those cards are related to travel and meals, according to sources who requested anonymity. By virtue of their offices, state governors belong to organizations that compel them to travel, such as the National Governors Association that convenes meetings to discuss policy.

But Noem has traveled more than Daugaard for activities beyond official business. She frequently speaks at conservative conferences throughout the country – last month, for example, she spoke at the Faith & Freedom Coalition conference in Washington, D.C. Fundraisers and campaign events are also common for Noem, and, more recently, she traveled to promote her books.

RELATED: Noem book tour cut short as national ambitions sink

Without access to the credit card statements, it’s unclear exactly how much money taxpayers are spending on those trips.

Daugaard declined to comment for this article, but sources from within his administration cautioned that credit card spending during the final year of a governor’s tenure is likely less than what’s typical as staffers and cabinet officials transition out of the state Capitol.

South Dakota law requires public records be open to inspection and copying during normal business hours. But the law is among the weakest in the nation due to dozens of exemptions that allow state officials discretion to keep records hidden if they choose. Sattgast, who has family working in Noem’s office after also working on her campaign, relied on an exemption that closes records deemed a security threat to people or property.

Dave Bordewyk, the executive director of the South Dakota NewsMedia Association, questioned how credit card records could pose a “security threat,” even if they contained expenditures for travel that occurred in the past. Bordewyk compared the credit card statements to the equivalent of writing a check.

“I fail to believe that releasing this type of information poses a security threat,” Bordewyk said.

Noem frequently promotes her public speaking engagements and media appearances on social media. Press conferences and other appearances are announced well in advance of them occurring.

Bordewyk noted that state law allows governments to redact information from records they think should be exempted while still giving public access to the documents. And government spending records are “fundamental” to open government, he added.

“If anything should be accessible to the public, it’s expenditures of the government,” he said.

In a statement, Ian Fury, the governor’s communications director, said Sattgast’s office was “absolutely correct” in denying the records. Past legislative intent as well as Office of Hearing Examiner opinions have confirmed the records aren’t public, in part because they could be used as a security threat.

“It is inaccurate that those expenditures are for the governor’s credit card as the state auditor’s response letter describes,” Fury said. “Those expenditures are from many employees and are legitimate state expenditures related to the official duties of the Governor’s Office, all of which have been reviewed and verified to be legitimate by the state auditor.” 

Noem vs. Daugaard

State retention rules allow government agencies to dispose of some records several years after their creation. Sattgast’s office said the majority of Daugaard’s credit card statements were no longer held by the office and thus a comprehensive yearly comparison could not be made between the two governors.

Had he spent $50,850 in subsequent years, Daugaard would have charged $406,800 in his full eight years.

Noem, not yet halfway through her second term, has spent 60 percent more than that amount. In contrast, the overall budget for the Governor’s Office today is only 24 percent more in general funds than what Daugaard was budgeting for the office when he moved out of the Governor’s Mansion. 

Daugaard had one state-issued credit card from Citibank. Noem also has a card issued by Citibank. But in her second year, the auditor’s records reflect that the state issued her a second card from First Premier Bank.

The most charged by Noem in a single year was in 2021 when she logged $159,517.38 on the two cards. However, this year she was on pace to have charged more than any previous year. In the first four months of 2024, she charged $75,772.07, almost all of that on her First Premier Bank card.

The governor currently has a salary of $144,644, an amount that doesn’t include the value of state-provided housing governors are afforded. Governors are not responsible for expenses while living in the Governor’s Mansion in Pierre.