Massachusetts Audit Question Was ‘In Proper Form’ on the Ballot

Many Massachusetts residents continue to wonder why the audit law they overwhelmingly approved last fall, authorizing State Auditor Diana DiZoglio to audit the Massachusetts Legislature, remains unenforced.

Massachusetts state government has a storied history of corruption, and the refusal of top lawmakers to open the books to scrutiny despite still unfulfilled promises of a more transparent system leaves little doubt in the minds of many taxpayers that there is probably something to hide.

Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano say the audit law is unconstitutional.

Prove it.

Springfield's WWLP-TV reported in March on a Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance poll showing strong public support for the audit, four months after nearly 72 percent of Massachusetts voters approved it in a ballot question.

"Likely voters were asked if the attorney general should step in on enforcing a voter-approved audit of the state legislature, and nearly 81% said yes," according to the report.

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Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, William Francis Galvin, said that "The Attorney General's office serves the people of Massachusetts in many ways, including protecting consumers, combating fraud and corruption, investigating and prosecuting crime, and protecting the environment, workers, and civil rights."

So why hasn't Campbell stepped in to enforce the law?"

Boston's WCVB-TV reported Campbell accused DiZoglio of not cooperating.

"I need the auditor to tell 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," she said. "But until we have that, we go into court, we will be laughed out of court."

I'm no genius, and don't even play one on the radio, but isn't that Campbell's job?

READ MORE: DiZoglio Seeks New Bedford's Help in Fight for State Audit

Furthermore, by Amendment Article 48 of the Massachusetts Constitution, Campbell signed off on the audit question before it was placed on the ballot.

The law requires that Campbell verify that "the measure is in proper form for submission to voters," the measure is not substantially the same as any measure submitted in the last two statewide general elections, and "the measure contains only related or mutually dependent subjects and does not include any excluded subjects."

The Attorney General must determine that "the petition meets the constitutional requirements" before she can certify it for the ballot. In other words, is it legal? She must have felt that it was because she approved the question for the ballot.

Now, enforce the law.

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