Speaker Mariano: Auditor’s push is pure politics
Joan Vennochi’s column “The audit blockade on Beacon Hill” (Opinion, March 5) suggests that the Massachusetts House of Representatives is opposed to an independent audit, despite the fact that the House is already audited every year by an independent auditing firm. Audits for previous fiscal years can be found on the Legislature’s website, while all House expenditures can be found on CTHRU, an open-records platform provided by the state comptroller.
What the House remains opposed to is an audit that we believe to be unconstitutional and politically motivated. The state auditor is seeking to concentrate power in the hands of a single government official, in violation of the separation of powers principle that is foundational to the Massachusetts Constitution.
That the auditor’s effort has “an element of political theater” and is motivated by her own personal biases is something we can all agree on, especially considering that the auditor herself has acknowledged such biases. She recently went on Fox News to drum up conservative support with President Trump’s former press secretary, who conflated welfare fraud with the proposed legislative audit. She also claimed that recent increases to the state attorney general’s budget were bribes, rather than appropriations for the dozens of lawsuits that the AG has filed against the Trump administration — actions that have protected more than $3 billion in federal funding for Massachusetts.
In an effort to respond to concerns from voters who approved the ballot question authorizing the state auditor to audit the Legislature, the House has asked the auditor to select an independent auditing firm to conduct an audit of House finances. The auditor has repeatedly rejected that offer. The auditor’s refusal makes it clear that this effort has never been about auditing the Legislature — it has been about advancing the auditor’s own political ambitions.
Ronald J. Mariano
Speaker of the Massachusetts House of Representatives
Quincy
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