State Auditor Diana DiZoglio plans to proceed along with her audit of the Legislature, regardless of opposition from House Speaker Ron Mariano, who denounced the probe as unconstitutional and past the authorized authority of her workplace.
Armed with a authorized opinion from counsel for the House of Representatives that concluded the state auditor “lacks any legal authority to conduct an audit of the General Court, or any branch thereof,” Mariano wrote a scathing letter to DiZoglio on Friday, denying her request for a gathering to start the audit course of.
“That your office has the legal authority to conduct an audit of the General Court is a claim entirely without legal support or precedent, as it runs contrary to multiple, explicit provisions of the Massachusetts Constitution, and is wholly unnecessary as the public currently has full and ready access to the House’s financial information,” Mariano wrote.
According to a letter despatched to Mariano by House lawyer James Kennedy on Thursday, DiZoglio’s interpretation of the pertinent part in state regulation is inaccurate, when it comes to it granting her the authority to audit the Legislature.
Her workplace is legally allowed to audit businesses and places of work inside the govt department, however not the opposite separate branches of presidency, Kennedy wrote.
“Even if one were to accept the incorrect notion that Section 12 grants the state auditor’s office with an implied statutory authority to audit the House of Representatives, such an argument would still ultimately fail because the exercise of this purported authority, absent the express consent of the House of Representatives, would violate the Massachusetts Constitution,” Kennedy wrote.
In a Friday assertion, DiZoglio mentioned she intends to maneuver ahead along with her efficiency audit, with or with out permission from the House speaker.
“I find it disappointing the speaker is fighting an audit of what is happening in the people’s house, where the people’s business is conducted, using the people’s money,” DiZoglio mentioned. “We are not asking for permission and will continue conducting our audit as planned, to help increase transparency, accountability and equity for everyday families.”
Upon launching the probe earlier this month, DiZoglio mentioned the “Legislature has not been audited since 1922, while Massachusetts ranks as one of the least transparent and least accessible state governments in the nation.”
This isn’t true, in response to Kennedy, who mentioned the Office of the State Auditor has by no means carried out an audit of the House of Representatives.
There are data, nevertheless, of a “report of the auditor for the fiscal year ending Nov. 30, 1922,” which Kennedy mentioned he presumes DiZoglio is referring to, however “this report was not, nor does it reflect, an audit of the House of Representatives.”
Referencing Kennedy’s authorized opinion, Mariano disputed claims that the House lacks transparency, saying that its monetary expenditures and accounts are publicly out there on-line.
Further, Mariano mentioned House guidelines adopted every session require these monetary accounts to be independently audited on an annual foundation, “in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America.” The annual audit is filed with the House clerk for public inspection, he mentioned.
“The people of the commonwealth are the final arbiters of the performance of their duly elected representatives,” Mariano wrote. “For an executive officer to claim any authority over the General Court is to suggest an authority over the people themselves.”
Source: www.bostonherald.com”