It is not political, voters want the legislature to be audited

The state auditor Diana Dizoglio is going back CLAIMS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE HOUSE That his search for an audit of the legislature is somehow politically motivated, and says that his office is in the midst of asking the courts to intervene with the attorney general in the name of the voters who approved overwhelmingly Question 1 The past fall.

Dizoglio says that the president of the House of Representatives, Ron Mariano, is “violating the law” approved by seven of the ten voters of the state of the bay during the elections of the past fall, which apparently should allow his office to perform audits of the state legislature.

The audit of his office is currently trying, he told The Herald, seeks to examine only “financial and contract documents” that would normally be available to the public, if they originated somewhere less than Beacon Hill’s halls.

“These financial documents that we have requested are public registration issues for those who cannot be exempted from the Public Registries Law such as the Speaker,” said Dizoglio.

The law approved in November, as written, theoretically gives Dizoglio the authority to “audit the accounts, programs, activities and functions directly related to the aforementioned accounts of all departments, offices, commissions, institutions and community activities, including those of the districts and the authorities created by the General Court and the General Court in itself.”

Despite its approval, the legislature has withdrawn the implementation of the law, indicating instead the routine audits of their work done by external agencies and have been made public through the State website and Establish a committee Consider their auditor’s requests.

Talking Sunday with Local CBS WBZ AffiliateMariano said he is not afraid of an audit of the financial records of the legislature, what worries him is that Dizoglio, a former legislator, seems to be acting out of partisan resentment and not the interests of taxpayers.

“The problem we have is that we do not want a political audit. We want a financial audit, ”he said.

Mariano said he believes that the question of the electoral ballot raises “constitutional problems” such as the separation of powers. The house has sought External legal advisor to advise legislators before a potentially prolonged fight with the auditor in the state judicial system.

According to Dizoglio, the attorney general, Andrea Campbell, should lead that fight in the name of the voters, but so far he has chosen not to intervene. Dizoglio seems to think that the AG is braking concerns about the finances of its own department, that the legislature is responsible for acquiring.

“The Attorney General Campbell is allowing the speaker to break the audit law for which he voted for the scapegoat personally. I am presenting an order of Mandamus to demand that the AG to enforce the law, yes, even for those who dictate their budget, ”he told The Herald.

The Campbell office said they are aware of the wishes of the legal relief auditor, but that any action that the attorney general can take only after a careful consideration of the matter.

“There is a substantive process to request affirmative litigation, which involve real planning and legal strategy. It seems that the auditor needs a constant reminder that he must follow that process like everyone else, “said Campbell Communications director Molly McGlynn.

Dizoglio could not say when Mandamus’s brief would be presented, a legal tool used to force government officials to properly fulfill their duties. She said that without the cooperation of the AG, the general advisor of her office has been forced to add a fight for the implementation of question 1 to her regular duties.

McGlynn said that AGS’s office would not comment on the order of Mandamus, but simultaneously offered doubts to Dizoglio’s legal strategy.

“No writing has been presented in the Court, and nothing like what the auditor describes has been successfully presented against this office. Therefore, we will not comment on a threat without the foundation of a lawsuit, ”he said.

Meanwhile, Dizoglio said that the statement of the Marian speaker that his audit is politically motivated does not make sense, considering the information that she and the voters are asking later.

“Everything we have asked are financial and contractual documents, so exactly the financial and contractual documents that the speaker is trying to hide,” he said.