Audits, Public Records & Legislative Stipends in the Spotlight. What are they hiding?
On November 5th, 2024, the people of Massachusetts voted Yes on Ballot Question 1 “A Law Expressly Authorizing the Auditor to Audit the Legislature”.
The winning initiative led by state auditor Diana DiZoglio read, “The department of the state auditor shall audit the accounts, programs, activities and functions … of all departments, offices, commissions, institutions and activities of the commonwealth, including those of districts and authorities created by the general court and the general court itself, and including those of the income tax division of the department of revenue.”
With a decisive 72% victory, the people of Massachusetts spoke and expect an audit.
However, the Massachusetts legislature led by House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka as well as attorney general Andrea Campbell are resisting an audit by their elected state auditor. Their opposition begs the question, what are they hiding?
While an audit of the legislature would allow the books to be opened, another way to access the books is to pass the new ballot initiative petition for a “Law to Improve Access to Public Records” led by The Coalition for Healthy Democracy.
On their website, The Coalition for Healthy Democracy claims the “measure would end Massachusetts’ status as the least transparent state in the nation…. Currently, Massachusetts is the only state where the legislative, executive and judicial branches all claim full exemption from public records law, making it nearly impossible to see how decisions are made, where money flows or how our leaders are truly working for us.”
Is our legislature truly working for we the people?
It appears that a majority of legislators are more interested in preserving their political position and salary than addressing constituent concerns. Out of 200 state legislators, 149 receive “leadership stipends” – some exceeding $112,000 per year on top of a yearly base salary of $82,044.
A coalition named Legislative Effectiveness and Accountability Partnership (LEAP) are leading a ballot initiative petition for an “Act to Reform and Regulate Legislative Stipends”. On their website, it reads, “All that stipend money is doled out at the discretion of the Senate President, the House Speaker, or the two minority party leaders and can be taken away at any time. Legislators have lost their stipends for criticizing the Speaker or talking to the media without permission. They are forced to capitulate or risk their livelihoods.”
Another non-partisan coalition of grassroots activists named “We the People” have organized a public rally called “It’s the Peoples State House” for Wednesday, October 15th, 12:30 PM on the steps of the Boston State House, 24 Beacon St. The website is PeoplesStateHouse.com. The focus of the rally will be to bring prominent speakers and concerned citizens from left, center, and right who expect transparency, fairness, and accountability from their elected state government.
After all, the ballot initiative to audit the legislature garnered 72% of all Massachusetts voters – Republican, Democrat, and Unenrolled. The people of Massachusetts want to know how their tax dollars are being spent. They want transparency and fair policies.
With a large enough audience, citizens of Massachusetts will be loud enough to reach the legislators in session to let them know who they were elected to serve.
