Legislature should stop dodging audit

OUR OPINION

Among last year’s slate of state ballot referendums, the one that passed with the most approval from Massachusetts voters was Question 1. About three in four Bay Staters who went to the polls agreed with the state auditor that her office’s oversight should apply to the Legislature.

Unsurprisingly, Beacon Hill leadership strongly opposed this measure. Yet even after the voters spoke in a uniquely overwhelming fashion compared to most state ballot initiatives, the Legislature is dragging its feet on following their constituents’ call for transparency.

Since Question 1’s passage, the Legislature has refused to comply with State Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s requests for key records like financial receipts and contracting documents that are part and parcel of audits for all commonwealth offices.

Legislative leaders continue to raise the same disingenuous concerns over separation of powers that they did to muddy the waters during the ballot question campaign.

(While the state auditor’s office belongs to the executive branch, it has investigated the other branches of state government in the past, including the Legislature, without constitutional crisis or major disruption.)

Leadership has floated the “compromise” of allowing an audit by a private third party, which contradicts Question 1’s language and the normative process for auditing state entities. Meanwhile, state House and Senate leaders have signaled they are willing to go to the mat in court if Auditor DiZoglio follows through on her bid to legally compel the Legislature’s compliance.

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