Massachusetts Senate Republicans call on Democratic leader to request Supreme Judicial Court opinion on Legislative audit

Tim Dunn, Boston Herald on Mar 12, 2026

Published in News & Features

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BOSTON — The Massachusetts Senate Republican Caucus is calling on Senate President Karen Spilka, a Democrat, to formally request the Supreme Judicial Court to issue an advisory opinion “to effectively resolve any remaining issues” regarding the voter-approved Legislative audit.

The Caucus sent a letter to Spilka on Thursday, referencing “the Senate’s actions during the informal session of March 12,” related to two proposed ballot initiatives that are pending approval by the state Senate: H.5004 — An Act to Improve Access to Public Records and H.5010 — An Act to Reform and Regulate Legislative Stipends. The Senate voted during the informal session to send two orders to the SJC asking for advisory opinions on the ballot questions.

“Given these actions, we request that the Senate act similarly and consistently to place before the court questions relative to the law regarding the audit of the General Court, Chapter 250 of the Acts of 2024. This law, enacted overwhelmingly by the Commonwealth’s voters, was also the subject of an initiative petition and affects the operations of the General Court. The voters who approved this law by a decisive margin deserve a clear and authoritative answer as to its constitutionality and the Legislature’s corresponding obligations,” the letter to Spilka reads.

“Seeking the opinion of the court is an important tool which has been used throughout the history of our state by the legislature to obtain guidance from the ultimate arbiter of constitutionality,” it says.

The letter comes just over a week after the SJC denied state Auditor Diana DiZoglio’s motion to obtain a special assistant attorney general to represent her in court – another setback in her legal battle to carry out the Legislative audit. Attorney General Andrea Campbell has chosen to represent Spilka and House Speaker Ron Mariano in the case, resisting calls from DiZoglio to challenge their refusal to be audited by her office.

“The State Auditor cites no statute, constitutional provision, or other authority that would permit a single justice of the Supreme Judicial Court to appoint a SAAG,” Supreme Judicial Court Judge Dalila Argaez Wendlandt wrote in a two-page ruling.

Campbell and DiZoglio have been locked in a legal tug-of-war since DiZoglio has sought to carry out the legislative audit approved by 72% of voters in 2024. Siding with legislative leadership in blocking the audit, Campbell has claimed that DiZoglio has not answered basic questions regarding the scope of the legislative audit, which she argues may also be in violation of the state Constitution.

Additionally, the Caucus also requested Spilka to ask the Senate to authorize a separate order for an advisory opinion on the Legislative audit itself.

“Accordingly, the Caucus respectfully requests that the Senate consider and authorize a separate order requesting an advisory opinion on the constitutionality, scope, and enforceability of the 2024 audit statute as applied to the General Court,” the letter said. “A timely advisory opinion will remove the present uncertainty, preserve the Senate’s institutional integrity, and enable the Senate to discharge its constitutional responsibilities with legal clarity.”

Meanwhile, Republican U.S. Senate candidate John Deaton, along with a group of Massachusetts residents, has filed a similar lawsuit under a century-old state law (M.G.L. c. 29, § 63) to “prevent the unlawful expenditure of public funds by the Massachusetts Legislature.”

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