BOSTON (WHDH) - A battle over transparency on Beacon Hill will take center stage at the ballot box this November.
Question 1 would expand the state’s public records law to include the governor’s office and the Legislature. Led by State Auditor Diana DiZoglio, the ballot question would make documents like state contracts and financial receipts subject to the Public Records Law, making them available for the public to request, inspect and copy.
The Tufts Center for State Policy Analysis found that Question 1 would modestly improve voters’ ability to obtain information related to financial and administrative details. However, voters would not be able to access documents related to policymaking decisions, including communications with lobbyists.
“Most other states already have laws like this on the books,” DiZoglio said. “Massachusetts is sort of on an island itself with the lack of transparency in making public records accessible to the public. So this law would make sure that people have access to the records that they pay for.”
Massachusetts is the only state where the state legislature, governor’s office and judiciary are exempt from public records law. The law currently applies to every other state agency, along with local municipalities.
DiZoglio sees Question 1 as another way to increase transparency amid her legal fight to audit the Legislature. In 2024, voters passed a ballot measure allowing the State Auditor to audit accounts, programs and activities. The Legislature has refused to turn over records and DiZoglio’s office has filed a lawsuit in response.
Governor Maura Healey has said she plans to vote yes on Question 1.
While the Legislature is not listed as an official opponent of the measure, a report from the Legislature’s Special Joint Committee on Initiative Petitions— a legislative committee that reviews potential ballot questions— has raised several concerns, including the state resources that would be needed to comply with the measure and the need to protect constituents’ privacy.
The ballot measure does include an exemption for communications between constituents and legislators related to access to government services.
Meanwhile, the House and Senate have passed their own public records bills, which are now before a conference committee. The bills would make certain documents public, including financial records and bill summaries, but would stop short of applying the state’s Public Records Law to the Legislature.
Each bill also includes a provision allowing the Legislature to appoint officers to enforce the law. Under Question 1, enforcement of the public records law would remain with the executive branch.
“The reason to have the enforcement go through the Legislature is to respect separation of powers and to respect the Constitution and our Constitutional principles, the bedrocks of our democracy and ensure that you have that judicial pathway as well,” said State Senator Becca Rausch, one of the proponents of the senate version of the bill.
The legislation has faced criticism over language establishing a procedure that would be “the sole exclusive remedy” for obtaining records, raising questions about whether this would supersede Question One if passed.
“What the legislature is doing is they’re essentially saying any law that they don’t like that we might pass that holds them accountable—they are going to simultaneously be working to overturn those efforts,” DiZoglio said.
House Speaker Ronald Mariano, however, says the Legislature is working toward the same goal as the ballot question.
“The bill currently before the conference committee would advance that objective while addressing the constitutional considerations necessary to ensure that the reforms can withstand scrutiny and provide a durable framework for greater transparency,” he said.
Rausch said voters will ultimately have their say on November 3, but what happens after remains uncertain.
“Who knows how that is going to come out, I certainly don’t,” she said. “If both iterations end up moving forward then we’ll have to see what the courts decide I guess, but voters will have their vote on November 3 or before and then we’ll all go from there.”
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