Bill > H5469

This bill, titled "Promoting transparency and public access in state government," aims to increase transparency by allowing the State Auditor to audit the "administrative functions" of the Massachusetts Senate, House of Representatives, and joint legislative operations, which include things like official budgets, audits, expenditures, and monetary settlement agreements, but specifically exclude "constitutional functions" such as legislative power, speech, and deliberation. The bill also defines "legislative records" that will be made accessible to the public, encompassing a wide range of documents from legislation and hearing testimony to financial records and committee assignments, while excluding sensitive security information. To facilitate this access, each branch of the legislature will appoint a "legislative records access officer" responsible for responding to public requests for these records within specific timeframes, with provisions for fees, denials, and appeals to the Supreme Judicial Court. The bill also makes technical amendments to existing laws to align with these new transparency measures, including clarifying the definition of an "agency" for public records purposes and extending certain record-keeping requirements to the office of the governor starting in 2027.