Voters could have chance to weigh-in on power to audit Massachusetts Legislature

A battle over the power to audit the Massachusetts Legislature could end up before voters in 2024 after Attorney General Andrea Campbell certified a ballot question Wednesday that would grant that authority to the state auditor.

A proposed ballot question from State Auditor Diana DiZoglio cleared the initial hurdle but whether Campbell will approve a parallel request from the Methuen Democrat to pursue legal action to force the Legislature to open up their books is unclear.

“Our state Legislature is frequently ranked as the least transparent state Legislature in the entire nation — not subject to public records laws, not subject to open meeting laws. For legislative leaders to continue to refuse to cooperate with our office is unacceptable,” DiZoglio told the Herald. “Working Families in Massachusetts deserve better. It’s the people’s house, not the politician’s house.”

Both House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka have declined to participate in the audit and have repeatedly said they do not believe DiZoglio has the power nor precedent to conduct the review.

A Mariano spokesperson declined to comment on the ballot question certification and Senate President Karen Spilka issued a one-line statement.

“The senate president is thankful to the attorney general and her team for their review of each of the ballot questions before them,” a spokesperson for Spilka said.

Other than certifying DiZoglio’s ballot question, Campbell has not yet weighed-in on the request to take the House and Senate to court. The state’s top prosecutor said such a move would be “rare” during a radio appearance last month.

“I just want to stress that this is rare that you have one part of government wanting to sue another or vice versa depending on how this unfolds,” Campbell said.

DiZoglio said Wednesday she has not received any updates from Campbell nor a timeline for when a decision could be made.

“The sooner the better,” DiZolgio said.