South Dakota official says meeting with Noem had no effect on daughter’s application

South Dakota’s labor secretary testified on Thursday that a meeting at Republican Gov. Kristi Noem’s home that raised questions of conflicts of interest had no bearing on the decision to give Noem’s daughter another chance at her real estate appraiser license.

Earlier this month, Marcia Hultman, who is South Dakota’s secretary of Labor and Regulation, and Sherry Bren, who was formerly executive director of the state’s Appraiser Certification Program, were asked to testify before the committee. 

Hultman and Bren had attended a meeting with the governor and her daughter Kassidy Peters in July 2020 called shortly after Peters was denied her residential appraiser certification. Records indicated that the denial was never issued, and Peters was awarded her license in November 2020. The meeting prompted concerns over whether Noem sought to interfere with the agency’s work. 

On Thursday, Hultman told the Legislature’s Government Operations and Audit Committee that the governor’s daughter attending the meeting was unusual. However, she added that while they did discuss Peters’s application, the handling of her licensure was not abnormal, according to The Associated Press. 

“We should not say ‘never’ to an applicant who wants to take extra steps to learn the trade,” Hultman said, per the AP.

“Someone who is going through the process, regardless of who they are, has insight,” Hultman added when asked why Peters was in the meeting. 

Republican lawmakers said there was no evidence of direct inference from the governor, the AP reported, though the situation was not a good look for Noem.

The committee’s investigation also involved Bren, who was pressured to retire by Hultman shortly after Peters did receive her license but after she received a $200,000 payment to withdraw an age discrimination complaint, according to the wire service.

The committee could take further action on the case next month and another ethics board is set to look into the issue next week, the AP noted.

The Hill has reached out to Noem for comment.