Looking To Pass Question 1, State Auditor “Walks For Sunshine”

FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — For State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, it’s one step at a time —  for 141 miles.

Wearing a neon yellow vest and a Camelbak, the state’s foremost accountability officer is 21 miles by foot (plus or minus a few yards) from her Beacon Hill office. I met up with her Thursday, in the middle of a week-long, state-wide trek to raise visibility for Yes on 1, the ballot question that would open the door to her audit of the state legislature.

She began walking in Great Barrington days ago, with a yellow sign on her back that reads “YES ON #1” in block print.   

I asked her how her feet were feeling.

“A little bit sore!” she quips, “but I actually am an avid hiker,” sometimes tackling multiple 4,000-footers in the White Mountains on a single day. On the day I joined her, it was a comparatively light 18-mile stretch from Westborough to Wellesley.

A “Walk For Sunshine” On Beacon Hill

As we meander along, DiZoglio explains where the idea for the sojourn across the Commonwealth came from. It’s a campaign visibility effort, but donations have also been coming in slower than she’d like.

“They’ve been a little bit slow, and that is largely due to the fact that these donations are made public, and a lot of folks have expressed that they are nervous that the leadership on Beacon Hill…will see their names on the list and retaliate against them,” she said. “So, we’ve had to get creative.”

In her attempt to get Question 1 passed, DiZoglio has taken aim at Beacon Hill’s long reputation for opacity. Votes are often not publicly recorded and sometimes carried out in the middle of the night, and lawmakers aren’t subject to public records requests or open meeting laws. Massachusetts is one of just four states in the country that doesn’t require its legislature to comply with public records laws, something that DiZoglio finds outrageous.

“This is just one thing that we can do to give taxpayers access to what’s happening with their tax dollars up on Beacon Hill,” she said. “When we can’t get access to basic documents like receipts...that’s problematic,” she continued.

Scope, Limitations, And The Tension That’s Cut With A Knife

Experts don't think the passage of Question 1 would allow an audit that examines things like why the lawmakers can pass bills on a voice vote in the middle of the night. Those activities fall under the “core functions” of the legislative branch, something immune from outside scrutiny. But certain, non-core functions – like spending receipts and how contracts are awarded, among other things – might be fair game.

Audits of at least certain parts of the legislature and the judiciary branches of Massachusetts government aren’t unheard of – but up until now, those audits were only done with the consent of the branch being audited. An audit over the objections of the lawmakers, it seems, has never actually been done before in Massachusetts.

If Question 1 passes, DiZoglio admits that it might be an uphill battle to keep the law intact.

“Certainly, they could try to mess with this law once we pass it,” she said. Lawmakers could gut the law and leave it toothless, repeal it, or ignore the audit altogether. But DiZoglio said that if any of that happens, it would pit Beacon Hill powerbrokers against the will of the voters – a confrontation that she said is outside their best interests:

“Legislative leaders seem to be confused about the reality that they’re not just fighting with one woman from Methuen...folks want access. They’re tired of the games. Legislative leaders need to understand that they’re no longer just fighting with the auditor’s office. They would be fighting with the people of Massachusetts that they are called to represent,” she said.

Auditor DiZoglio works in an office under the golden dome – tight proximity for an official who has fiercely criticized hill leadership.   

“Some days you can cut the air with a knife…It makes folks uncomfortable, but it doesn’t make everyone uncomfortable,” she said, explaining that she’s had lawmakers privately come to her with their support.

“It is immoral and unethical that a few powerful politicians on Beacon Hill are allowed to hide receipts and documents that are taxpayer funded. That information belongs to the people of Massachusetts. The arguments that are being tossed out against this proposal are bogus,” she said.

Leadership And AG’s Response

The response from Beacon Hill lawmakers to DiZoglio’s audit attempts have been, in a word, scathing.

Both House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka have said that the auditor does not have the constitutional authority to audit the legislature. Spilka’s office also pointed out that the Senate, at least, is audited every year by a financial firm and the results are posted online. Their position was somewhat bolstered by a decision by Attorney General Andrea Campbell in 2023, which held that under current law, the auditor doesn’t have the power to examine the legislature without its consent. DiZoglio had asked for the AG’s Office to recognize that power.

“The Attorney General’s decision has reinforced our long-held position that the Auditor does not have the statutory or constitutional authority to audit any other separate branch of government,” both leaders said in a joint statement.

However, the Attorney General’s office was careful to point out that its decision applied only to current law, and made no claim about the ballot question besides to point out that it may later be challenged on constitutional grounds if it passes.

Constitutional scholars have pointed out that passing the measure may undermine the separation of powers, interfering with the operation of an independent branch of government. DiZoglio responds that another core governing principle – checks and balances – has fallen by the wayside.

WBZ Chaiel Schaffel (@CschaffelWBZ) reports:

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