{"id":116,"date":"2026-06-08T19:35:18","date_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:35:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=116"},"modified":"2026-06-08T19:35:18","modified_gmt":"2026-06-08T19:35:18","slug":"shortsleeve-would-tie-legislative-funding-to-audit-compliance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worcestermovingreport.com\/?p=116","title":{"rendered":"Shortsleeve would tie legislative funding to audit compliance"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Overview:<\/h2>\n

If Shortsleeve wins his bid for the corner office, he pledged to take away the money that covers legislative operations, salaries and leadership stipends. His campaign pegged that dollar amount at about $110 million.<\/p>\n

Read more The World Cup has arrived, but how are the vibes?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Angered by the Legislature\u2019s tactics to curtail the scope of the voter-backed audit law, Republican Brian Shortsleeve said Monday that if he were governor, he would veto the budget appropriations for the House and Senate until they fully comply with Auditor Diana DiZoglio\u2019s probe.<\/p>\n

If Shortsleeve wins his bid for the corner office, he pledged to take away the money that covers legislative operations, salaries and leadership stipends. His campaign pegged that dollar amount at about $110 million.<\/p>\n

\u201cHere\u2019s my view: If you\u2019re refusing to comply with the law and the expressed will of the people, taxpayers shouldn\u2019t be forced to keep writing you a blank check,\u201d Shortsleeve said at a press conference outside the State House. \u201cIn more than 20 years building companies in the private sector, I\u2019ve learned a simple lesson: If you don\u2019t do the job you\u2019re assigned to do, you don\u2019t get paid. If you refuse oversight, there are consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the state\u2019s final fiscal 2026 annual budget, legislative appropriations totaled $91.3 million, including $49.8 million for the House, $30.7 million for the Senate, and $10.7 million for joint appropriations.<\/p>\n

At a sparsely attended event, a white banner behind Shortsleeve said \u201cveto\u201d in red capital letters.<\/p>\n

Shortsleeve\u2019s proposed maneuver would likely be thwarted by the Legislature, which can overturn a gubernatorial veto with a two-thirds vote in both branches. Asked about that possibility, Shortsleeve said \u201cit starts with leadership\u201d as he accused Gov. Maura Healey of not returning a phone call or email to DiZoglio in more than a year and a half.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs governor, I will take action,\u201d Shortsleeve said. \u201cMaura Healey has taken no action.\u201d<\/p>\n

Healey has said she voted for the audit ballot question, but she largely hasn\u2019t intervened in the fight enveloping the Legislature, DiZoglio and Attorney General Andrea Campbell. Healey\u2019s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Shortsleeve\u2019s remarks.<\/p>\n

The long-running audit dispute hit a new boiling point last week.<\/p>\n

The House passed a bill Wednesday that dramatically restricts the legislative probe that voters in 2024 authorized DiZoglio to conduct. DiZoglio\u2019s audit would be limited to the Legislature\u2019s administrative functions under the measure, and the courts would also be blocked from resolving disputes between the auditor and lawmaker.<\/p>\n

House leaders say their bill addresses their constitutional separation of power concerns, while DiZoglio contends the branch is suppressing the judiciary\u2019s authority.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey cannot legislate in the Mass. General Laws that the courts don\u2019t have the power to adjudicate matters of law,\u201d DiZoglio said on WCVB\u2019s \u201cOn the Record\u201d show that aired Sunday. \u201cThey are violating the separation of powers \u2014 that\u2019s the courts\u2019 role, not their role. And Mr. Speaker has led his membership down a very, very dangerous path.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more House wades in on data privacy: \u2018Your data belongs to you.\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

The Senate last week gave DiZoglio a narrow slate of records, after passing a resolution that looks to guard the branch against future requests that senators claim could infringe on constitutional separation of power principles.<\/p>\n

Shortsleeve says Healey should veto any legislation that limits the scope of the voter-backed audit law.<\/p>\n

The House bill also subjects the governor\u2019s office to the public records law \u2014 but not the Legislature. Pressed whether Healey should sign the bill for the sake of the public records component, Shortsleeve said, \u201cIt\u2019s a bad bill \u2014 it should be vetoed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reflecting on the 72% of voters who cast their ballot for the audit, Shortsleeve continued, \u201cI think it\u2019s outrageous that this building and this leadership has blown it off. I think it\u2019s outrageous that our governor will not stand up and drive that audit through.\u201d<\/p>\n

Republican Mike Kennealy, who suspended his campaign for governor after falling short at the MassGOP convention in April, last week endorsed Mike Minogue. In a statement, Kennealy ridiculed Shortsleeve for running \u201can overwhelmingly negative and dishonest campaign.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cShortsleeve has a decision to make about whether to continue his campaign given the lack of public support for his candidacy, but whatever his choice, Mike Minogue will be the 2026 Republican nominee for Governor,\u201d Kennealy said.<\/p>\n

Shortsleeve on Monday dismissed the endorsement as an \u201cinsider\u2019s game\u201d and pitched himself as the \u201cpro-choice Republican in this race.\u201d Minogue, a Catholic who\u2019s pro life, has said he\u2019ll uphold state laws protecting reproductive care access.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re getting a great response. I\u2019m not very focused on the inside game,\u201d Shortsleeve said. \u201cI\u2019m focused on the people of the state that want change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Minogue led Shortsleeve 45% to 13% in a Suffolk University\/Boston Globe<\/em> poll of likely Republican primary voters but 40% of those surveyed between May 26 and May 29 were still undecided. In that same poll, 50% said that the candidates\u2019 differences on abortion rights don\u2019t make them more or less likely to vote for either candidate, while 33% said it made them more likely to vote Minogue, and 14% said it made them more likely to vote Shortsleeve.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbortion rights will matter more in the general election, but among many of these Republican primary voters the issue doesn\u2019t matter, and may even benefit Minogue,\u201d said David Paleologos, director of the Suffolk University Political Research Center.<\/p>\n

Read more House approves later last call bill that would run through July<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If Shortsleeve wins his bid for the corner office, he pledged to take away the money that covers legislative operations, salaries and leadership stipends. 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