BOSTON — State Auditor Diana DiZoglio is doubling down on her criticism of House and Senate leaders and accusing the Attorney General of trying to derail her efforts to sue to enforce a voter approved legislative audit.
In an interview, DiZoglio said she has enlisted a private attorney and will be pursuing legal action against the state Legislature over its refusal to open up the books for a financial performance review, despite a majority of voters approving the plan in the last election.
“We’ve been talking to the Attorney General’s office for months and getting nowhere,” the Methuen Democrat said.
“We have begged her to enforce the law but she is refusing to represent us. So we’ve secured our own attorney, at no cost to the taxpayers, and are preparing a legal challenge.”
DiZoglio personally accused Attorney General Andrea Campbell, a fellow Democrat, of trying to prevent her from taking the issue before a state judge as a private citizen.
“It is our constitutional right, as citizens of the commonwealth, to be able to access an impartial hearing,” she said. “But we’re being denied our day in court. It’s obstruction of justice.”
Campbell’s office has previously rejected DiZoglio’s request to file a lawsuit to force the audit, saying a review of state laws, rulings and the historical record showed she didn’t have standing to file the legal challenge.
In response, DiZoglio took the question to the ballot.
Massachusetts voters approved Question 1 in the 2024 election, authorizing the auditor to conduct a performance and financial audit of the Legislature to ensure that it is following rules and regulations. The referendum was approved by nearly 72%, according to the Secretary of State’s office.
But House Speaker Ron Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka, both of whom opposed Question 1, continue to push back against the law despite the will of voters, repeating claims that the audit would violate the state Constitution and separation of powers doctrine.
The House and Senate conduct regular internal audits of their financial controls and procedures, legislative leaders say, which are available for public review.
“Every dollar the Senate spends and appropriates is available online for the public to see, as are the nonpolitical audits that a professional auditing firm does every year of the Senate’s operating expenses,” a Spilka spokesperson said in a statement.
At times the war of words on Beacon Hill over the audit has become personal, with legislative leaders accusing DiZoglio of using the issue to retaliate against them. DiZoglio, a former state lawmaker, was a frequent critic of legislative rules.
DiZoglio, meanwhile, has criticized Spilka, Mariano and other top Democrats of being “authoritarian” and refused to participate in legislative hearings to consider the legality of the audit. She criticized the proceedings as a “kangaroo court” aimed at stalling compliance with the voter-approved law.
In response to DiZoglio’s claims, a Campbell spokesperson issued a statement saying any potential legal action would be “immediately” dismissed under the state law because it wasn’t authorized by the AG’s office.
“Massachusetts state law is clear that any lawful litigation brought by state officials or state entities must be authorized by the Attorney General’s Office,” the AG’s office said. “Any unauthorized litigation initiated by the Auditor will be dismissed immediately.”
DiZoglio said one of the claims that is likely to come out of any lawsuit to force the audit is that the Attorney General is “abdicating her responsibility” by refusing to take up the case and siding with legislative leaders in wrangling over implementation of the law.
“At the beginning, a lot of this could’ve been attributed to basic arrogance by legislative leaders who didn’t want to allow me personally to do my job,” DiZoglio said. “But now they are slapping the voters in the face, and saying they’re not going to follow the law.”
Christian M. Wade covers the Massachusetts Statehouse for North of Boston Media Group’s newspapers and websites. Email him at cwade@cnhinews.com.