Diana DiZoglio "fed up" with opposition to efforts for Massachusetts legislature audit
BOSTON – State Auditor Diana DiZoglio wants to perform an audit of the Massachusetts legislature , but has been met with pushback form lawmakers. She calls the opposition "deeply disturbing," considering that the public appears largely in favor of the measure.
DiZoglio discussed her efforts to perform the audit during an interview with WBZ-TV.
"When the legislative leadership team resists an audit by our office, they are not resisting me personally or anyone that works in my office. Who they are resisting and denying access to" DiZoglio said, looking directly at the camera and addressing viewers, "is everybody right at home, you the taxpayer. It's you. They're telling you that they don't want [you] to have access to how they're spending our tax dollars."
Massachusetts voters likely to decide on audit
DiZoglio said she expects to file the signatures required to get her initiative petition on the November ballot.
With two recent polls showing landslide support for the measure, that signature drive and the potential campaign will be closely watched as an indication of public attitudes toward the Beacon Hill establishment.
While there is no organized campaign against expanding DiZoglio's auditing power, legislative leaders have said there's no call for it, that existing annual audit data and disclosure requirements should suffice and they have nothing to hide.
Transparency from public officials
But DiZoglio, citing "heel dragging" on audit compliance by some executive branch agencies as well, denounced the legislature for lacking transparency about how it does its work.
"We are fed up with the excuses as to why that is not the case," she said. "We hear all the time nowadays about policies getting voted on behind closed doors, we know that we have one of the least transparent state legislators in the entire nation, not subject to public records laws, not subject to open meeting laws. bills were able to get passed in the middle of the night with no recorded roll call votes. That is not the Massachusetts that we know and love and need to do better by. Folks are fed up with excuses and they're ready for change."
You can watch "Keller At Large," Boston's most-watched Sunday political interview, every Sunday at 8:30 a.m.