MA Auditor To Review Legislature For First Time In A Century

BOSTON, MA — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio announced Tuesday that her office will review the State Legislature in an attempt to increase transparency. This is the first time the Legislature has been reviewed in more than a century.

DiZoglio, a Democrat, pledged to review the Legislature's operations in her campaign for office last year. She previously served as a state senator and representative serving Essex.

DiZoglio said the audit is intended to "increase transparency, accountability and equity" in an area of government that's "been completely ignored."

The Legislature, where Democrats hold overwhelming majorities in both chambers, was last audited in 1922. Critics, including DiZoglio, have said that the 200-member Legislature is among the least transparent in the country.

"Historically, the Legislature has been a closed-door operation, where committee votes have been hidden from the general public, and legislation has been voted on in the dark of night," DiZoglio said in a statement.

The Legislature is exempt from the state's open meeting laws and routinely holds closed-door caucuses. Lawmakers often gather in a room off the side of the House Chamber during state budget debates to discuss amendments to the massive spending bill.

"Taxpayers deserve more," DiZoglio said in a statement. "They deserve the opportunity to weigh in on legislative, budgetary and regulatory matters that are important to them. Everyone should have equitable and transparent access to and information about all state-funded agencies, including the Legislature."

DiZoglio's office will make the results of the audit public once it is completed.

The Associated Press contributed to this story