On Wednesday, March 18, 2026, Reading's Select Board voted to fire off a strongly worded letter to House Speaker Ronald Mariano and Senate President Karen Spilka, urging them to enforce the voter-approved audit of the state Legislature. The move, requested by Select Board member Melissa Murphy, comes in the wake of the passage of Ballot Question 1 in November 2024. Town leaders say the letter is meant to defend the will of local voters and push Beacon Hill to stop dragging its feet.
Local officials press Beacon Hill
As reported by Boston Herald, the Select Board voted to send the letter to Mariano and Spilka after highlighting that Reading voters backed Question 1 by a wide margin, with roughly 10,987 "yes" votes out of about 16,650 ballots, or approximately 66 percent in town.
Murphy, who asked for the motion, argued that the current lack of transparency on Beacon Hill is unacceptable. She told the Herald, "you cannot make a public records request on a legislator while legislators can make one on residents." According to the Herald, Murphy also posted on Facebook that she hopes other local boards and councils will urge the Legislature to honor the will of voters, turning Reading's letter into the start of a broader municipal chorus.
Ballot background
Ballot Question 1, which would give the state auditor explicit authority to audit the Legislature, passed statewide in November 2024 by a wide margin. Statewide returns showed about 72 percent of voters backing the measure, a lopsided result that quickly caught the attention of lawmakers at the State House, as outlined by Boston.com.
Supporters say the change would lift a veil of secrecy around some legislative practices and finally subject the Legislature to the same level of scrutiny other state agencies face. Opponents counter that such an audit risks breaching constitutional separation-of-powers protections and could open the door to new power struggles on Beacon Hill.
Legal tug-of-war
The auditor's push to begin a legislative audit has morphed into a legal and procedural tug-of-war, with both sides filing motions and court papers over scope and authority. WBUR has chronicled how Auditor Diana DiZoglio moved to press forward while legislative leaders and legal advisers raised constitutional objections that could constrain a review. That unresolved legal question remains a central reason the audit has not yet gone forward.
What comes next
Town officials say their letter is intended to prod lawmakers into action and remind Beacon Hill that local voters spoke loudly in 2024. Some lawmakers have suggested that the Senate president seek guidance from the Supreme Judicial Court to resolve the dispute.
The Boston Herald reports the SJC denied DiZoglio's recent request for a special assistant attorney general earlier this month, and that Attorney General Andrea Campbell is representing Senate President Karen Spilka and House Speaker Ronald Mariano in the case. Reading's Select Board members say they hope other municipalities will add their voices if Beacon Hill continues to delay on implementing the voter-approved audit.
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