AG Campbell will not yet engage in the Question 1 dispute

Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell said she supports voters’ will to approve Question 1, which gives the state auditor the power to audit the Legislature, but her office is waiting for any action to be taken.

Some lawmakers have said they will amend the issue, arguing that the amendment violates the constitutional separation of powers. State Auditor Diana DiZoglio shared the post on social media earlier this month
contact the prosecutor general step in and prevent lawmakers from changing voter-approved laws.

“Right now, the auditor is pushing for our office to get involved. Our office has no role to play at this time,” Campbell said Boston Public Radio on Tuesday.

The question asked by voters does not come into force until 30 days after election day. The legislator can then respond to the auditor’s conclusions. In the event of a dispute, either party may seek to resolve it in court. Only then will Campbell’s office get involved.

“But at the moment we are only dealing with hypotheses,” she said.

Campbell said she supports greater government transparency, citing her time on the Boston City Council when she worked to expand the Public Records Act.

While Campbell supports the ballot issue, she said her office does not believe the provision should be included in the section
$4 billion jobs bill should pass. It was a provision that effectively protected BlueHub Capital, a Roxbury nonprofit that made shared-rate mortgage loans. According to the report, the company was sued in 2020 over predatory lending allegations
Boston Globe. Lawmakers signed the bill into law on November 20.

“Of course, there are several things in the Energy Economy Act that we appreciated. We worked with the governor on the issue, we worked with the legislature on the issue. But for this particular provision, we didn’t think it should be passed,” Campbell said.

“If you grant an exemption to one product or one company, you potentially open the floodgates for others to also start claiming the exemption. And that worries us,” she said.

BlueHub assembled
notice of additional authority to the Supreme Court of Suffolk on November 26, asking for the case to be dismissed. They argued that the Employment Act came into force in an emergency preamble, meaning the legislation was retroactive and would eliminate pending litigation against them.

In time Boston Public Radio In an interview, Campbell stated that she was unaware of this notice. The Attorney General’s Office also continues to analyze the wording of the draft Employment Act, which gives the attorney general a regulatory role.

“Give us some time. We will also need to check what motion for summary judgment they actually filed. I haven’t seen it yet,” she said.