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State auditor restarts process of examining Legislature, but questions remain
Voters overwhelmingly backed a ballot question that gives Auditor Diana DiZoglio the authority to audit the state Legislature. She could still face significant obstacles.
On the back of a resounding victory for her push to audit the Massachusetts Legislature, State Auditor Diana DiZoglio is taking steps to “re-engage” with leaders on Beacon Hill who have stymied her efforts thus far.
DiZoglio sent a letter Friday afternoon to House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka, informing them that her office would soon be conducting a “performance audit” of the Legislature. The work would start with an examination of “high-risk areas” like contracting and procurement procedures, the use of nondisclosure agreements funded by taxpayers, and other budget and spending data.
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In late October, DiZoglio’s office released a lengthy report detailing findings from an audit of the Legislature’s actions in 2021 and 2022. However, lawmakers refused to participate and thus some key information was not able to be included in the final report. That process highlighted the Legislature’s “lack of transparency and accountability,” her office said in an accompanying release.
Now that voters have approved Question 1, DiZoglio is moving to fill in those blanks. In the letter, she told Mariano and Spilka that her office will need access to more records and could make inquiries with State House staffers. DiZoglio said her office would be in further communication with the lawmakers to arrange an “entrance conference” sometime this month.
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DiZoglio campaigned for the office of state auditor on the promise that she would expose the inner workings of the Legislature, which has been criticized for its opaqueness and lack of productivity. She has since clashed with Mariano and Spilka, who refused to cooperate with the audit at the scope DiZoglio was pushing for.
That led to Question 1, a ballot measure that explicitly gives the state auditor power to audit the Legislature. Despite concerns about overly politicizing the office and upsetting the separation of powers between the branches of government, voters overwhelmingly sided with DiZoglio earlier this week. More than 71% of voters cast a “yes” vote on Question 1, the most lopsided result among the state’s five ballot measures.
“It was incredibly inspiring to learn that over 70% of voters across Massachusetts support the work our office is trying to do with respect to increasing transparency and accountability through an audit of the Legislature,” DiZoglio told Boston.com.
She said that she was cautiously optimistic going into election night, and was heartened by the hundreds of volunteers who helped gain momentum for the “Yes on 1” campaign.
“It’s such a divisive time across this nation. It was an incredibly hopeful moment that I will not soon forget,” the state auditor said.
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Despite the success on election night, the road ahead is unclear. Lawmakers could still seek to amend or overturn the law completely. Mariano and Spilka signaled that they could consider changes, a process that is “consistent with how the Legislature has moved forward with every voter-approved ballot question in the past.”
“We will consider next steps regarding how to best respect the Question 1 election results in a manner that aligns with the fundamental principles of the Massachusetts Constitution, including separation of powers,” they said in a statement this week.
DiZoglio is vowing to fight back if they move to overturn the law.
“I have made it clear that if they seek to overturn the will of the people, especially considering the huge margin of victory, I will be calling on Gov. Healey to veto any efforts to overturn the law,” she said.
Even if Healey does veto changes, a two-thirds majority in each chamber could override the veto.
“In that case, legislators would need to be on the record for whether they are going to support the will of the people or support the will of the Senate president and the speaker against the people they represent,” DiZoglio said when asked about that possibility.
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