SIOUX FALLS, SD: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem on Thursday contradicted her own labor secretary about a meeting last year in her office, saying it didn’t include any discussion about whether her daughter was still a state How to Win a Real Estate Appraiser License after Agency. Went to refuse.
The Republican governor answered questions from South Dakota reporters on the episode for the first time on Thursday, more than a month after The Associated Press first reported it. While a Republican-dominated legislative committee and the state government’s ethics board have looked into the matter, it distorted the AP’s reporting on the meeting.
Noem’s labor secretary defended his department’s actions to lawmakers last week, telling lawmakers that before the meeting state regulators had already reached an agreement to provide Noem’s daughter, Cassidy Peters, an opportunity to fix issues with her application. had done She said the meeting mostly involved potential corrections to the shortage of licensed appraisers.
However, Labor Secretary Marcia Hultmann told lawmakers that the end of the meeting also included a brief discussion about a possible plan for Peters to get his license.
But when Noem was asked by the AP at a news conference on Thursday if he was aware of the plan that the meeting was going on, he replied, “We didn’t even talk about that and insisted that the meeting be held at Peters’.” was not to discuss the application.
She gave her personal experiences through the program,” Noem said. Of course, she gave her perspective and how long it took to complete the program and how difficult it was.
However, Sherry Braine, long-time director of the appraiser certification program, told the AP that she was presented at the meeting with a letter from Peters’ supervisor that rejected the agency’s move to deny the license.
Four months after the meeting, Peters received the license.
Noem once again insisted that Peters went through the exact same process that other appraisers did in the state of South Dakota. He never received special treatment.
Noem defended her conduct in the episode, saying she was working to solve a shortage of appraisers in the state. However, soon after Peters was licensed, he faced backlash from the organization that represents the appraisers, after Holtman pressured Braine to retire late last year. Brain filed a complaint of age discrimination and received a $200,000 payment from the state to withdraw the complaint and leave his job.
I came to fix the program. And so we’re fixing it, she said. But we also believe that some people who have been involved in the industry for a long time do not like it.
The legislature’s Government Steering and Audit Committee, which is looking into the agency at the center of the episode, requested copies of the agreements between Peters and the agency, but Noem said doing so would allow personnel files to be opened to the public. An example will be set.
That’s why for consistency and to make sure I’m fair because that’s exactly what I’m focused on, I have to set the same example for everyone.”
Asked whether she would allow the documents to be opened because the agreements themselves state that they are open to public inspection, she said she would let her lawyers decide whether an open record should be considered.
Lawyers for the Department of Labor and Regulation have already denied a public records request from the AP for records. An appeals office later ruled that the department was right to deny the record request.
While Braine declined the Legislature’s invitation to speak last week, she said she is working with her attorney to communicate with lawmakers and correct any factual inaccuracies from Hultman’s testimony. .
Disclaimer: This post has been self-published from the agency feed without modification and has not been reviewed by an editor
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