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State Auditor Diana DiZoglio has campaigned hard for Question 1, which would clarify whether she has the power to audit the Massachusetts Legislature. But the office is already far behind with its mandated audits, a WBUR review has found.

By law, the office must complete audits of about 200 state agencies every three years. WBUR discovered the office hadn’t audited nearly half of them by that deadline, according to a review of its website.

Last year, DiZoglio’s office published 32 audits — the lowest output in nearly two decades. She’s completed 33 so far this year.

Her predecessor, Suzanne Bump, averaged around 60 during the last two terms of her office. She, too, didn’t meet the three-year mandate for several agencies.

In a statement, DiZoglio’s office said it’s “fully on track” to meet the three-year mandate.

Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio at WBUR. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Massachusetts State Auditor Diana DiZoglio at WBUR. (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

DiZoglio, who served as a state representative and state senator before becoming auditor in January 2023, trekked 141 miles across the state this month to promote her ballot measure, Question 1. It would clarify whether she has the authority to audit the legislature. Opponents of the measure say the audits envisioned under the question would violate the separation of powers between the legislative and executive branches of state government.

Audits provide the public a window into the workings of state government, both good and ill. Without them, the public may have never become aware of unreported abuse of children in foster care, missing information of registered sex offenders, an infamous Worcester Zamboniand other misuse of public funds.

However, WBUR found five agencies on the auditor’s list that appear to have never had a complete audit. A spokesperson for the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs told WBUR it is currently undergoing an audit. Others referred WBUR’s questions to the Auditor’s Office.

For instance, there’s no audit listed for the Massachusetts Marketing Partnership (created in 2010), which spent around $47 million on public relations and tourism for the state last year.

WBUR’s analysis of published audits also found a backlog of 37 agencies which haven’t been checked in five or more years. Of those, more than half had previous audits that included “adverse findings,” such as waste or administrative shortfalls.

The 2014 audit of the State Office for Pharmacy Services, for example, found as much as $10 million had been wasted because of inefficient systems and discovered a potential conflict of interest involving its executive director. The agency hasn’t been audited since.

And despite scandals at the Registry of Motor Vehicles in 2021 and the Holyoke Soldiers’ Home in 2020 that involved administrative failures, deadly outcomes and calls for reform, neither has been audited in six years.

The auditor’s office has long faced challenges in meeting the three-year mandate, enacted in 2011. Bump, who wouldn’t comment, also struggled to complete enough audits.

Massachusetts Auditor Suzanne Bump (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)
Former Massachusetts State Auditor Suzanne Bump (Robin Lubbock/WBUR)

DiZoglio didn’t answer questions about why the office hadn’t audited any of these agencies that were long overdue for review. But she blamed the recent delays in audits on the agencies themselves.

“Our office has waited upwards of six months for documents we’ve requested to be able to complete our audits,” the statement said.

DiZoglio’s office later added it “has more than 60 audits in process, encompassing more than 100 state entities.”

Karissa Hand, a spokesperson for Gov. Maura Healey, said the administration is working with DiZoglio to ensure “full cooperation and transparency” from state agencies. Hand didn’t address why some of the agencies had never been audited.

Several state government experts told WBUR that it’s not surprising that audit numbers have fallen since DiZoglio took over.

“You’d expect reduced efficiency and output in the first few years as you’re learning a new office,” said Evan Horowitz, director of the Center for State Policy Analysis at Tufts University. “But this auditor has also chosen to take on a huge side project at the same time, advancing the ballot question … I would be surprised if it wasn’t distracting.”

DiZoglio has said the Legislature continues to be secretive and made auditing the body a mission of hers.

"It honestly doesn't matter where I stand," Senate President Karen Spilka said about sports betting at a Monday press availability. (Sam Doran/SHNS)
Massachusetts Senate President Karen Spilka and Speaker of the House Ron Mariano. (Sam Doran/SHNS)

Polling shows most voters support Question 1. But many legal analysts have said the measure violates the Massachusetts constitution. Bump, the former auditor, also opposes the ballot question, saying it would “politicize and degrade” the auditor’s office.

In 2023, Attorney General Andrea Campbell determined that, under the current statute, DiZoglio’s needs the Legislature’s consent to be audited. Campbell allowed the ballot question to go forward, but wrote that, should it pass, “we may need to consider whether, and the extent to which, constitutional limitations affect how the law would apply.”

Should the question pass, it will likely face a court challenge.

Last week, DiZoglio’s office released a contentious 77-page report citing the Legislature for a “lack of transparency,” late financial reports and procurement issues. Legislative leaders refused to cooperate with the auditor’s office, with House Speaker Ronald Mariano calling DiZoglio’s report “pure political self-promotion.”

In a statement to WBUR, Mariano said DiZoglio should focus “on her statutorily mandated reviews, as she continues to underperform her predecessors in the completion of that important work.”

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