Massachusetts Auditor Diana DiZoglio is taking legislative leaders in Massachusetts to court after uncovering nearly $12 million in alleged fraud across public assistance programs and encountering resistance to a voter-backed audit of the Legislature.

DiZoglio, a Democrat and former member of both the Massachusetts House and Senate, has filed a complaint with the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court seeking to enforce a 2024 ballot measure that granted her office authority to audit the Legislature. The measure passed with 72% support statewide.

The legal action follows a report from the State Auditor’s Office identifying nearly $12 million in alleged fraud during fiscal year 2025 across multiple public assistance programs. DiZoglio said she notified House and Senate leaders earlier this year of her intent to conduct a performance audit but was denied access to necessary documents. She also said the attorney general declined to intervene.

“What are they hiding? If there's nothing to hide, open the doors and let the sun shine in. Let's do this audit,” DiZoglio said during a televised interview, framing the dispute as a matter of transparency rather than partisan politics.

According to the auditor, Massachusetts is the only state in the country where the Legislature, the governor’s office, and the judiciary exempt themselves from the state’s public records law. She argues the newly approved audit authority is designed to bring transparency to taxpayer-funded records, including contracts and financial receipts.

“This is about transparency and accountability,” DiZoglio said. “This is not about whether you support the right or the left.”

However, reporting by GBH News indicates the state attorney general disputes DiZoglio’s authority to file the lawsuit. The attorney general’s office said the filing attempts to sidestep required approval and raises constitutional questions about legislative privileges dating back nearly 250 years.

DiZoglio maintains that enforcing the audit law reflects the will of voters across party lines and is necessary to protect public assistance programs from waste, fraud, and abuse. She shared that she was born to a 17-year-old single mother who relied on assistance programs before becoming a nurse, underscoring her argument that rooting out fraud protects those genuinely in need.

“The Constitution is there to protect the people, not the politicians,” she said, expressing hope that the state’s highest court will ultimately side with voters.