State Auditor Diana DiZoglio made good on her promise Tuesday to begin auditing the state legislature where she served most recently as a state senator from Methuen and previously as a member of the House of Representatives.
DiZoglio’s promise to investigate the legislature brought her criticism on the campaign trail last year, especially from Senate President Karen E. Spilka and former Auditor Suzanne M. Bump who instead endorsed former Assistant Transportation Secretary Chris Dempsey.
“As I committed, my office has begun an audit of the state legislature. We hope this will increase transparency, accountability and equity in an area of state government that has been completely ignored. Historically, the legislature has been a closed-door operation, where committee votes have been hidden from the general public, and legislation has been voted on in the dark of night,” said DiZoglio in a statement.
As WHAV reported last summer, Bump said she supports Dempsey over DiZoglio, whom she implied would use the auditor’s job as “a weapon to take down an individual or institution or grab a gratuitous headline.” Spilka went on see her term limits removed by her senate colleagues, over whom she is said to rule secretly and with an iron fist.
“Taxpayers deserve more—they deserve the opportunity to weigh in on legislative, budgetary and regulatory matters that are important to them. Everyone should have equitable and transparent access to and information about all state-funded agencies, including the legislature. Unfortunately, the legislature has not been audited since 1922, while Massachusetts ranks as one of the least transparent and least accessible state governments in the nation,” DiZoglio said.
DiZoglio said she will notify the public when the audit is complete.