An Act requiring the department of the state auditor to certify compliance as a prerequisite for additional compensation for a member of the General Court

194th Legislature (2025-2026)

Requires the Mass. State Auditor to certify a General Court member's compliance with audit requests before any additional pay or expense allowances can be issued.

Scheduled for the House Journal Addenda

Overview

Bill number: HD 4314

Title: An Act requiring the department of the state auditor to certify compliance as a prerequisite for additional compensation for a member of the General Court

Status: Scheduled for the House Journal Addenda

Introduced / Filed: January 23, 2025 (Filed); Introduced January 29, 2025

Origin: Petition filed by Christopher Thrasher (Westport, MA)

Proceedings context: Part of the 194th Massachusetts General Court (2025-2026)

Purpose and intent

The bill would condition a member’s eligibility for certain forms of compensation and expense allowances on certification by the Department of the State Auditor (DSA) that the member is in compliance with all requests the DSA may issue under its auditing authority. In short, compensation and expense reimbursements for members of the General Court could not be issued without an auditor’s certification of compliance.

Key provisions

Amendment target: Chapter 3 of the General Laws (as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition). The bill inserts a new section after existing section 9D.

New requirement: A member of the General Court is ineligible for:

Any additional compensation available under Section 9B, and/or
Any expense allowances under Section 9C, unless certified by the Department of the State Auditor that the member is in compliance with all requests the DSA may issue under Section 12 of Chapter 11 of the General Laws.

Certification condition: The certification is a prerequisite for receiving the specified compensation or expenses.

Who is affected

Directly affected: Members of the General Court (Massachusetts Senate and House of Representatives) who would otherwise be eligible for additional compensation under Section 9B or expense allowances under Section 9C.

Indirectly affected: The Department of the State Auditor (as the certifying authority) and the processes by which auditors issue requests and auditors’ certificates; potential impact on the timing and receipt of compensation for members.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Filed date: January 23, 2025

Introduced: January 29, 2025

Current status: Scheduled for the House Journal Addenda (as of the latest update)

Legislative path: The bill would need approval by both chambers of the General Court and the Governor (or veto/override process) to become law. It amends existing law rather than creating new funding, so there is no explicit appropriation in the bill itself.

Potential impacts and considerations

The measure introduces a verification step tied to auditor requests, potentially delaying or affecting the timing of additional pay and expenses for legislators until certification is obtained.

It reinforces auditor oversight by tying compensation to compliance with audit-related requests.

No new funding is created; the impact is procedural, focusing on eligibility for compensation rather than creating or redistributing funds.

If you’d like, I can provide a plain-language comparison to current law (Sections 9B, 9C, and 12 of Chapter 11) or draft a one-page briefing for stakeholders.

Bill