The 2 strongest Democrats within the Massachusetts Legislature mentioned they’re nonetheless contemplating whether or not to tinker with a voter-approved legislation that grants extra energy to the State Auditor’s Workplace to research the inside workings of the Home and Senate.
Home Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka once more indicated Wednesday they may ask their members to make adjustments to a profitable poll query that was championed by State Auditor Diana DiZolgio, a former state lawmaker who often clashed with management.
Mariano mentioned he’s discussing with Spilka methods “in which we can improve the perception that we are a transparent body” — a nod to a widely-held perception that the state Legislature is without doubt one of the most opaque governmental our bodies within the nation.
“We will be discussing different opportunities to make some changes,” Mariano mentioned of the audit legislation. “We are currently, right now, talking about different things. We had a meeting this morning.”
Within the days after residents voted to approve the poll query, DiZoglio reignited her effort to probe the Legislature and collect lacking info that lawmakers didn’t flip over throughout her first try at investigating the 2 chambers.
In a Friday letter to Mariano and Spilka, DiZoglio mentioned the renewed audit will give attention to “high-risk areas” like state contracting and procurement procedures, using taxpayer-funded nondisclosure agreements, and legislative financials.
“We ask that all requested records and information be made available to use within 72 hours of the date of request,” DiZoglio wrote.
Spilka mentioned the 2 chambers plan to answer DiZolgio’s letter “shortly” and any adjustments to the voter-approved audit legislation will “align with the fundamental principles and responsibilities of our Mass. constitution, especially the separation of powers.”
The 2 legislative leaders left the door open to altering the poll query earlier than Election Day, which prompted a fierce backlash from DiZoglio.
“They’re trying to discourage people from voting their conscience by telling them that their vote doesn’t matter, essentially, that they’re just going to ignore the will of the people anyways, and it’s unacceptable,” DiZoglio informed the Herald two days earlier than voters have been set to hit the polls.
After it was clear the poll query would succeed on Nov. 5, Mariano and Spilka mentioned they have been contemplating their subsequent steps.
“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,” the duo mentioned in a press release final week.
