In her continuing quest to make Massachusetts government more transparent and accountable, state Auditor Diana DiZoglio is asking voters to support her petition to expand the state’s public records law to include the governor’s office and state Legislature.
DiZoglio, a Methuen Democrat, has been locked in a three-year battle with legislative leaders and state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell over her initiative to do an administrative audit of the legislature. She outlined her new strategy and logic during a wide-ranging interview last Thursday on WHAV’s “Win for Breakfast” program.
She reminded listeners that doing such an audit was her priority when she campaigned for auditor in 2021. When legislative leaders balked, she turned to the electorate and launched a petition campaign to put an audit of the Legislature on the ballot for the state’s 2024 General Election. It won by a landslide with 71.6% of the votes.
Still in a deadlock with state leaders, DiZoglio is preparing to sue the Legislature in court. She is also turning once again to the public with a ballot petition to expand the state’s public records law. If the petition passes, DiZoglio said, the financial and contract records she is seeking would be available to the general public as well as to her as state auditor.
“I am asking you to please support this next ballot question which would subject the governor’s office and the legislature to the public records law,” DiZoglio said.
DiZoglio is also supporting an effort by former state Reps. Jay R. Kaufman and Jonathan Hecht to reform so-called “loyalty pay,” stipends awarded by the speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representative and State Senate president to colleagues in leadership roles. She argued rank-and-file senators and representatives cannot afford to support her audit initiative for fear of losing the extra financial support.
“Right now only the speaker and senate president decide who get the stipends and the chairmanships and the vice chairmanships and leadership positions and who doesn’t. And, obviously, as you can imagine, the people who are most well-behaved toward the speaker and senate president, those folks tend to get the most access and also more money,” DiZoglio said.
Kaufman and Hecht have launched a group they are calling the Legislative Effectiveness and Accountability Partnership which has offered two ballot measures. One would eliminate stipends entirely and the second would tie them to actual work done.
DiZoglio said she is not against the concept of stipends because, without them, many people could not afford to serve in the legislature. But, she said, the system places too much power in the hands of the legislature’s leaders.
Representatives and senators receive a base pay of $82,000, according to information on the LEAP website, StipendReform.com. Out of the 200 state senators and representatives, 149 receive leadership stipends which can go as high as $119,000. Since 2013, the legislature has quadrupled the amount of taxpayer money spent on stipends to $5.4 million, the website states.
The auditor, who once represented Haverhill and Methuen in both the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate, argued independent audits help inspire public trust and confidence in government. She noted she does not have legal powers of enforcement and can only make suggestions for changes.
“Massachusetts is frequently ranked as the least transparent state government in the entire nation,” DiZoglio said.
In Part 1, DiZoglio discusses an additional consequence of her standoff with the state attorney general and its effect on transparency.
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