I’ve heard from some constituents asking about the Senate’s response to Auditor Dizoglio regarding a legislative audit.
As a member of the subcommittee steering that response, I cannot comment personally, but I will share the subcommittee’s public communications as they are released from time to time.
Although readers may comment below, I am unable to respond to comments or answer questions on this issue. I will, however, continue to post additional public communications as they become available.
I don’t know the big deal here. The audit was voted in by the citizens of Ma.
The legislature comes off as trying to hide something by the delay. Just get it done
and fix anything that needs to be fixed. There are far more important things that need to get done without this weighing you down.
Ditto.
If they have nothing to hide she would’t have to take this to the courts and folks call them selves what ever God they serve are fake you can’t believe in the Lord and dishonesty,Federal dollars that could be used to improves communities not build more property to over populate a community,and anyone can sit and write a bill but if it’s no enforceable then what’s the use folks don’t want to look out their window to another building, like Burbank apartments sold out for Berkeley to build a gym that don’t accommodate all residents goes to show why she needs to see how folks federal and state dollars are being spent because it don’t belong to nobody in the statehouse,then you have criminals working within the lottery commission and i can back up everything i’m saying loosing tickets coming into the inner city while winning tickets go outside the city,be honorable or step aside
Wow, thanks for telling me or us. You mean if I buy a lottery ticket in Boston as a Boston resident, I have no chance of winning?
I applaud the State Auditor for taking on the legislature in cleaning house is in order.
Agree.
There’s a lot at stake that goes beyond Massachusetts. The average voter is not equipped, not trained, not informed, not educated enough, not connected enough to know all the dark convolutions of what goes on in the dark in the State House, nor what goes on at the well-lit, curtain-free brunches, dinners, intermissions, outings, and on and on. All we need to do is keep our eyes on the shiny populist fodder that stokes our outrage and strokes our ego. Look, a lot of good is done on the hill by well-meaning individuals, but the good works are the means to an end and this system in its turns gives pounds to those with pounds and pennies to those with pennies. Even the short-sighted solutions to the housing crisis panic and emergency is mainly a fig leaf to breech the wall and allow building where custom and history dictates there should be no such developments. A long term solution to the housing shortage is not consistent with everyone’s agenda.
no their not because the average voter continue to believe what someone else say instead of doing their own research all manipulation so your right Fred
Yes, its never a good look for anyone, particularly the Mass legislature to again overturn a vote in favor of an amendment. Particularly one voted for in favor by a huge (71%/29%) margin by we the people.
I have long found it interesting and telling that it’s been mainly the FEDS, not local law enforcement, who have prosecuted top Mass. legislators for corruption.
So I am not confident that any audit of the Democratic legislature by a Democratic auditor/AG will ever take place nor will it uncover the rampant corruption there.
Expecting Democrats to prosecute Democrats the way it should be done is unrealistic.
Not to mention the corrupt Democrat judges.
But apparently that’s what the voters want: corruption.
You must know of corruption on Beacon Hill, Will, don’t you?
I think it’s time to get the DOJ further involved.
Yes.
I don’t trust the auditor.
A Republican-led DOJ
your absolutely correct when you have folks appointing folks because their going to play by rules of the person who gave them the job not bye the rule of law and when you have madam healey giving high courts jobs to ex lovers the audit won’t make it to first base.so your correct Dee
Thank you for sharing the Senate response. Please know that I wholeheartedly support the Auditor’s initiative to finally break the cycle of secret politics tarnishing the reputation and representational effectiveness of our state legislature. Your support to shed light on the process is appreciated. The assiduousness of your support to ensure the initiative succeeds in its intent is very important to me and will be remembered at the next relevant election.
Agreed
yes I do as well
The legislature, however good the intentions of its members, certainly comes off as opaque and unresponsive, something all the legislators should pay attention to. I think the voters in Massachusetts, while grateful we don’t live in Tennessee, are unhappy with the slow bureaucratic pace of the legislature, which they see as unresponsive to their wants. Not you, Will, but in general. In the next few years in particular, we are going to need an agile, responsive legislature to defend us from the onslaught that will come out of Washington.
Even the good apples in the Legislature are turning a corrupt wheel… and they’re getting spots from it.
When does Massachusetts catch up with most of the more progressive states that offer some transparency in the legislative process? This has been a good old private club for way too long. Make some progress instead of stonewalling. Let’s see the legislature show a little backbone and draw back the curtain and start to fix what is broken!
The previous commenter is correct. We live in a one-party state, and the Democrats do not police themselves. The voters expressed their strong feelings that they wanted an AUDIT of the legislature and their practices. This has not yet happened! Why the delay? (That’s a rhetorical question).
Please keep this issue before the public so the legislature will not forget what the voters want!
Questions:
Who audits the auditor?
Who audits the governor?
I don’t care if its unprecedented within the country. Lets set a new precedent with a legislative audit and be open. When you see how hard it is to do common sense things like removing Boston alcohol license restrictions, any reform of Mass State Police, reforming agencies such as DCR etc it tells me something is wrong with our legislature in terms of getting things done. The voters clearly feel frustrated on lack of progress and transparency in state government and want some oversight. Don’t hide behind committee but be open go speak to media and talk about the process and work closely with auditor to make sure as much information is provided to them.
There are so many places to start but liquor licenses and the taxi-funded thumb on Uber are good places to start. Let’s follow the money there and see why MA Legislature hates the free market so much. They like a market they can benefit from much better. Follow the money.
“Although readers may comment below, I am unable to respond to comments or answer questions on this issue. I will, however, continue to post additional public communications as they become available.” WHY ARE YOU NOT ABLE TO COMMENT? WHY IS OUR LEGISLATURE THE MOST NON-TRANSPARENT IN THE NATION????? THIS BODY IS A CROOKED AND CORRUPT AS OUR NEWLY ELECTED FELONIOUS PRESIDENT.
I’m interested in learning what the audit shows and will reserve my opinion on the subject until I see what this new audit discovers. I am grateful for any audit at this point.
Wow! The auditor’s request has been “… referred to the Subcommittee of the Temporary Committee on Rules …” Sounds like it has been sent to the basement of the bureaucracy. Then the request will face “… a significant number of legal and procedural issues …”. The examples cited look like a tight line of ancient soldiers with shields and spears organized to fight off a team of auditors with pens and clipboards. So much for the will of the people.
Yes, so much for the will of the people.
Stand strong with your shield and spear (thanks, Don), Senator.
I agree with Don and others who commented on the Subcommittee’s letter to the OSA. It’s clear that the Senate is circling the wagons to resist, delay, and eventually kill the audit through bureaucratic maneuvers. The statement: “We are not aware of any other state auditor in the nation who has conducted a similar audit of their state legislature without explicitly being appointed or otherwise authorized to do so by the relevant body. ” is incredulous. The voters overwhelmingly authorized an audit by passing Question 1!
The Massachusetts Legislature indeed has things to hide if they are continuously stalling and refusing to allow the audit of their books. THE TAXPAYERS WHO VOTED IN THE LEGISLATURE WHO REPORTS TO THOSE WHO VOTED AND PAY TAXES !! THIS IS TAXPAYER MONEY and the VOTERS AND TAXPAYERS have a right to see how their tax dollars are being spent!! The people voted again to allow the audit and they should comply. Hope the courts and the Federal Government intervene to stop this rampant arrogance and corruption.
I’ve never been sure what an audit of the Legislature really means. I worked for state agencies that were audited and nothing meaningful ever came of it. All along this effort has seemed to me to be a public relations exercise.
The Massachusetts State House is one of only ten full time state legislatures in the country, and it is measurably the least effective, passing far fewer bills, both on absolute and percentage-wise basis, than any other state. Many good bills die in committee, but no legislator can be held accountable for their votes on these bills, because the State House keeps all committee votes secret.
Many of these good bills are home rule petitions. We are supposed to be a home rule state, but because of a megalomaniacal attitude of State House leadership, local innovation is not welcome … again, in committee, where the votes are not disclosed to the public.
Now, maybe, if the State House wasn’t run as a secretive, dictatorial, megalomaniacal regime, we wouldn’t need an aggressive audit. If legislators are wondering why this audit is needed, just look in the mirror.
Typical. Let’s send it to some sub-committee to hash out god knows what. By the time it comes out of committee it will be time for another 5 month vacation or even better. Bring it up in the odd ball time of vacation so any one person can shut it all down. You folks are a mess.
I personally think that a full treasury report should be made available on at least a monthly basis. Is Massachusetts prepared to deal with basic natural disasters and where is all this money coming from to implement the Governor’s agenda?
The auditor’s stance is incompatible with the state constitution. The legislature’s stance is incompatible with the strongly expressed will of the electorate. It seems clear that a compromise is the path forward, and the question is what form that compromise takes. The least bad option is for the legislature is to fight the auditor’s authority in the courts, while voluntarily complying with most of the auditor’s demands.
The outcome of the audit is predetermined; it will of course excoriate the legislature, fairly or not. It probably won’t uncover anything substantive, because every substantive thing is a core legislative function outside the auditor’s purview, and the legislature won’t bend far enough to cooperate with those inquiries. But on everything else, it’s the legislature’s job to take its licks, because that’s what the voters requested.
It is disappointment that this letter and the committee express so litte urgency and lack of commitment to the need to meet the goals of this audit. Without a sincere and high priority desire to address the issues of the audit, the raising of raising constitutional and procedural becomes a roadblock and shield. The lack of transparency and the concentration of power within the Legislature is one of the worse in the nation . I would like to see the Senate Committee sincerely embrace the goals of the audit and work with the Auditor collaboratively to work through legitimate procedural issues and release their constitutional prerogatives given the shared goal.
Please give us the audit that the voters clearly want! This may well be the most non-transparent legislature in the country!
How many billions of dollars has been wasted on illegal aliens? How many bills are left to languish until the last-minute legislative sessions and then are crammed through? The citizens of the Commonwealth have demanded transparency. You legislators are the ones who are denying it. What do you have to hide?
How many billions of dollars has been wasted on illegal aliens? How many bills are left to languish until the last-minute legislative sessions and then are crammed through? The citizens of the Commonwealth have demanded transparency. You legislators are the ones who are denying it. What do you have to hide? We demand accountability!
Will, if you believe your committee is stalling or dissembling, resign and let your true feelings be known. If you stand by the press release, there’s little that will happen and citizens will be further frustrated with how the Leg is run. Or you can continue to try to influence events from behind the scenes, but that’s part of what keeps voters in the dark and as irritated as they are. Mass needs to build a wall, not around the State House but to shelter its citizens from the Trump administration’s assaults on blue states.