Disconnect leaves wheels spinning on legislative audit law

Yahoo

24-03-2025

BOSTON (SHNS) – Attorney General Andrea Campbell accused Auditor Diana DiZoglio over the weekend of delaying a legal showdown in her longstanding quest to probe the Legislature.
Campbell warned the pair would currently be 'laughed out of court' as uncertainty swirls over DiZoglio's proposed audit.
'There are constitutional limitations, so I need the auditor to tell me and my team what's the legal strategy, what's the legal basis, what's the scope of her audit, and then we bring that to court,' Campbell said in a TV interview that aired Sunday. 'But until we have that, if we go into court, we will be laughed out of court.'
Campbell sought to 'correct the record' on WCVB's 'On The Record' as she reiterated why her office has yet to intervene and enforce the new voter law that gives DiZoglio the explicit authority to audit the Legislature. Top Beacon Hill Democrats have resisted DiZoglio's audit, citing constitutional concerns, while the auditor contends lawmakers are breaking the law that 72% of voters backed in November.
'I absolutely support all of those voters that voted in favor of this question, but we cannot go into court saying 72% voted in favor of it — and just look cute, and we look good going into court,' Campbell said. 'The judge, and any judge assigned to a case, wants to hear what's your legal argument and why should we give you some type of relief and why should we allow you to audit the Legislature? And we've asked the auditor to give us that information.'
Campbell claimed the ongoing sparring stems partly from a flaw in the initiative petition process that might need to be remedied in the future. While Campbell's office certified the audit ballot question as ballot eligible, she said that review did not delve into whether the referendum could pose constitutional challenges.
The AG, in a November 2023 letter to DiZoglio, had separately warned about 'constitutional limitations' if the question were to win voter approval.
'The ballot question, and this is just stupid by government from the past, we don't get to assess what's constitutional or not,' Campbell said on OTR. 'So people are actually voting on a ballot question, and it could be actually unconstitutional in some of its implementation, but we don't assess that when approving the ballot question. So clearly, we gotta change that or someone does.'
DiZoglio fired back at Campbell's remarks on social media Monday morning.
'Actually ⁦@MassAGO you did weigh in on constitutionality when you approved Question 1 for the ballot,' DiZoglio said on X. 'That's why there's no ability to change your mind now that we, the voters, passed it. Thankfully it's now up to the courts, not you or the Legislature, to decide.'
DiZoglio has repeatedly and unsuccessfully called for Campbell's support in the feud with House and Senate leaders, who did not hand over documents the auditor requested once the voter law took effect in January. Campbell says her office must follow a process to determine which branch of government to represent in court.
'We represent almost every state agency in the commonwealth. Anytime we go to court, we ask them for information,' Campbell said. 'The auditor, she's saying publicly she's giving us that information. She has not, and so I'm going to correct the record. We're happy to go into court where necessary, but we cannot go into court until she provides us the legal strategy, the information we need to create a case to then go into court.'
DiZoglio told the News Service earlier this month that her office provided all the information the AG requested. DiZoglio said Campbell's office keeps coming back with more questions.
A Senate subcommittee handling the voter law has also berated DiZoglio for not answering questions about the scope of her probe. The panel is holding a hearing next week as senators seek clarity on 'serious constitutional questions.'
'Recently, the Senate received the Auditor's latest letter in response to the Subcommittee's questions that, while containing several inaccurate accusations as to the motives of the Subcommittee, does not contain the substantive, clear, or consistent response the Senate requested,' chair Sen. Cindy Friedman said in a statement Friday. 'Therefore, the Subcommittee will gather facts and information from subject matter experts and hold a hearing on April 2, following the traditional process of legislative committees. The Subcommittee invited the Office of the State Auditor to participate, but they have declined.'
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