The South Dakota Capitol Rotunda. (Joshua Haiar/South Dakota Searchlight)
A South Dakota legislative board approved legal orders Tuesday requiring state officials to speak with lawmakers behind closed doors about allegedly criminal misconduct by former Department of Revenue employees.
The board, meeting in Pierre, voted 14-0 to approve the legal orders, called subpoenas. Rep. Dean Wink, R-Howes, was excused. Some members attended digitally.
The lawmakers aim to compel testimony to a separate legislative panel, the Government Operations and Audit Committee, from Revenue Secretary Michael Houdyshell and also Rosa Yaeger, head of the Motor Vehicle Division.
Houdyshell and Yeager are not accused of criminal wrongdoing. Two other former Revenue Department employees are criminally charged in a fake vehicle-titling scheme, following an investigation into similar allegations against a deceased former employee .
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Earlier this month, Houdyshell refused to provide some details to the Government Operations and Audit Committee, even during a closed-door session, about reforms and internal controls the department has implemented to prevent further crimes. That committee voted 7-2 in favor of issuing subpoenas, which must be approved by the Executive Board.