Fiscal watchdog calls on Massachusetts lawmakers to accept an audit before they take a pay raise

Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald on Jan 1, 2025

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

BOSTON — Lawmakers on Beacon Hill need to remember the will of the constituents who put them there before they undertake any legislative action or allow themselves a recently approved pay raise, according to a local fiscal watchdog organization.

The State House and Senate began the 194th General Court of the Commonwealth on Wednesday, and according to Paul Craney, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance, the first thing they need to do is allow an audit of the Legislature to proceed as approved by the voters.

“Before the legislature accepts their pay raise, they should accept the results of the audit the legislature ballot question,” Craney told the Herald.

When presented with the choice on this November’s ballot, the vast majority of Bay State voters — at least 71% — approved a new law giving the state’s Auditor the authority to audit the State Legislature.

According to Secretary of the Commonwealth Bill Galvin, that law is set to take effect on Friday.

House and Senate leadership have maintained from the beginning of Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s two-year-old quest to look into their affairs that her office lacks the authority to do so according to the separation of powers outlined in the state constitution.

Both chambers are already audited by outside agencies, according to their respective leadership teams.

House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka have both previously signaled a willingness to revisit the ballot question law for potential revisions that would keep in line with the constitution, but neither mentioned it when they were re-elected to their leadership roles Wednesday.

DiZoglio’s attempt to begin an audit in November, shortly after the ballot initiative was passed, has apparently been stonewalled by lawmakers. MassFiscal, along with fellow watchdogs Act on Mass and the Pioneer Institute, have threatened legal action to force them to comply.

“We think that government officials should follow the law, and it’s our intention to make sure that in this instance, if they don’t do it voluntarily, which we hope they do, then we stand ready at Pioneer Law Center to initiate such litigation as might be necessary in order to achieve that result,” Pioneer Public Interest Law Center President Frank Bailey said last month.

Lawmakers are also set to receive a pay raise of 11% in 2025, which reflects an increase in median salaries seen across the Commonwealth.

They shouldn’t take the money if they aren’t going to do as they’ve been ordered by the voters, according to Craney.

“This legislative session should not start by lawmakers further enriching themselves and rejecting the will of the voters,” he said. “It’s a broken legislative system at the State House and their actions over the next week or two will demonstrate how corrupt it’s becoming.”

_____