What would Question do if passed? – State law would allow and require the state auditor’s office to conduct regular performance audits of a broad range of Beacon Hill lawmaker activities. Specifically, it would enable the office to “audit the accounts, programs, activities and functions” of the Legislature. State Auditor is an elected position now held by Diana DiZoglio, a former state senator from Methuen. With a staff of roughly 200, the office is required to conduct performance audits – not financial audits – of all departments, offices, commissions, institutions and activities of state government. While the Legislature is not named in the statute governing the office, a “yes” vote would change the law to list the Legislature explicitly.

What do supporters argue? – DiZoglio was elected in 2022 after promising to audit the Legislature, an idea with overwhelming support among citizens. A recent poll suggests that 80 percent of Massachusetts voters back the measure versus 6 percent who disapprove. DiZoglio told WBUR that the audits would shine light on a Legislature “frequently ranked as one of the least transparent, least accessible, and least accountable in the nation — not subject to public records laws, not subject to open meeting laws, bills getting passed in the middle of the night with no recorded roll calls.”

Mary Connaughton, director of government transparency at Pioneer Institute who ran for auditor as a Republican in 2010, testified in favor of the ballot initiative in March. She said the audits would be about empowering voters to better “give instructions to their representatives. But how can we do so when we don’t know what our representatives are doing or not doing?” she said. “A comprehensive state audit is the perfect way to find out.”

What do opponents argue? – Unlike other ballot initiatives, Question 1 has no registered opponents. But some political scientists say the measure threatens the separation of powers enshrined in the state constitution. Professor Jerold Duquette, an expert in Massachusetts politics at Central Connecticut State University, said he voted for DiZoglio and champions transparency. But he argued the law would make Massachusetts an outlier among states. He said the auditing powers could give DiZoglio leverage to harass the Legislature, “because they will be compelled to produce documents, to produce records, which means that she’ll have something that she can use in negotiations with the Legislature over anything.”

DiZoglio’s predecessor, Suzanne Bump, has come out against a measure that she said would “politicize and degrade the office” of auditor. In a hearing on Beacon Hill, Bump said DiZoglio’s past work as a lawmaker poses a conflict with her intention to audit the chambers.

If it passes? – The Legislature could decide to comply, or appeal to the courts and leave it up to the judicial branch to decide whether (or to what extent) the executive branch can audit the legislative branch.

This article was originally published by WBUR on Sept. 20. The Reporter and WBUR share content through a media partnership.