THE MASS BRIEF

Wednesday, May 6, 2026

 

The Lead

The SJC Takes Up the DiZoglio Audit Fight — And It’s Complicated

Years of standoff between state Auditor Diana DiZoglio and the Massachusetts Legislature arrive at their first real reckoning today, as the Supreme Judicial Court hears arguments in what has become one of the more procedurally tangled disputes on Beacon Hill. DiZoglio, who won a 2024 ballot question explicitly empowering her office to audit the Legislature, has been stonewalled ever since — and when she sued legislative leaders to force compliance, Attorney General Andrea Campbell moved to dismiss that lawsuit, arguing DiZoglio didn’t have the authority to file it in the first place. DiZoglio responded by trying to appoint outside counsel and sidestep Campbell’s office entirely. So now the SJC is being asked to referee a fight about the fight.

Here’s the catch: the court isn’t yet ruling on whether DiZoglio actually can audit the Legislature — the central constitutional question that voters thought they answered at the ballot box. Instead, today’s arguments focus on procedure: Can DiZoglio hire her own attorney to sue? Can Campbell kill the lawsuit? Justice Dalila Argaez Wendlandt, a Baker appointee, thought the questions serious enough to kick to the full court. Whatever the SJC decides will set the table for the much bigger confrontation to come. If DiZoglio can’t even get her lawsuit to the starting line, the Legislature may have found its loophole. If she can, expect the constitutional fireworks to follow.

Full story at Boston Globe →

 

What Else You Should Know

A State Trooper Is Fighting for Their Life After a Wrong-Way Crash on Route 1

Around 2 a.m. Wednesday, a wrong-way driver traveling south in the northbound lanes of Route 1 in Lynnfield slammed into a responding State Police cruiser. The trooper was rushed to a Boston hospital with life-threatening injuries; the other driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Route 1 north remains closed at Walnut Street in Saugus as of this morning — avoid the area if you can. WBZ / CBS Boston →

The Senate Budget Is Here — And It Has Something for Everyone to Argue About

State Senate Ways and Means Chairman Michael Rodrigues unveiled a $63.3 billion fiscal year 2027 budget Tuesday that closely tracks the House’s version but adds some notable differences — including a $53 million increase in local aid (significantly more than the House proposed) and a significant overhaul of how county sheriffs get funded, after the Inspector General flagged the current system as “opaque, chaotic and deeply flawed.” Oh, and they want to make it easier for you to cancel that streaming service you forgot you subscribed to. GBH News →

Half of Massachusetts Residents Say They Can’t Afford Housing — And It’s Reshaping Lives

A new MassINC poll for CommonWealth Beacon and WBUR finds that housing costs are the single biggest financial pressure point for Massachusetts residents — outranking healthcare, taxes, and higher education. The crunch is hitting 35-to-44-year-olds hardest, and researchers say it’s not just straining budgets but actively delaying major life milestones and pushing younger residents to question whether they can afford to stay in the state at all. CommonWealth Beacon →

Legislators Keep Killing Bills Without Voting — And Transparency Reforms Haven’t Fixed It

Last session, Massachusetts lawmakers promised more transparency after a messy end to formal session and a bruising at the ballot box. But a new Boston Globe analysis finds that hundreds of bills — roughly 800 in the House and 100-plus in the Senate through mid-April — have been quietly killed without a single public vote, using a procedural workaround that violates the spirit, if not the letter, of the new rules. Rep. Ken Sweezey, a Duxbury Republican, put it plainly: “The people that come and testify deserve to know where we stand.” Boston Globe →

The Feds Are Coming for Smith College

The U.S. Department of Education opened a Title IX investigation Monday into Smith College’s policy of admitting transgender women, the latest in a string of Trump administration actions targeting trans students and the institutions that welcome them. Smith, a private all-women’s college in Northampton, has admitted trans women since 2015 — a policy shared by several peer institutions. The school has not yet publicly responded to the investigation. Boston.com →

The State Had a Very Good April for Tax Collections

Despite months of gloomy warnings about federal cuts and proposed ballot-box tax reductions, Massachusetts pulled in $7.4 billion in tax revenue in April — nearly $1 billion, or 14 percent, above projections. The state is now running about $1.6 billion ahead of forecast with two months left in the fiscal year. Budget watchers are cautiously relieved but not popping champagne yet: the numbers are encouraging, but don’t fully answer whether the broader Massachusetts economy is actually healthy. Boston Globe →

 

Worth Your Attention

SJC arguments in DiZoglio v. Everyone happen today — if you want to follow along, watch for coverage from the Globe and GBH as arguments wrap up. Boston Globe →

Trooper Casey Lamont is arraigned this afternoon at 2 p.m. in Worcester Superior Court on charges related to the 2024 death of State Police Academy recruit Enrique Delgado-Garcia, who died after being allowed to box a day after showing concussion-like symptoms — the fourth instructor charged in the case. WCVB →

Heads up if you’re near Bourne: Foundation pile-driving for the new $2.1 billion Sagamore Bridge is underway and MassDOT is literally apologizing in advance for the noise and ground-shaking — expect it during weekday business hours for the next two to three months. WBZ / CBS Boston →

 

💰 Money Watch

This Week on Beacon Hill

New on the Ballot

One More Thing

Marblehead finally — finally — passed MBTA Communities Act zoning this week, after years of rejections, reversals, and legal threats from the AG’s office. The new multifamily overlay district is centered largely on... a golf course. One resident named David, blessed with the energy of a man who has been to too many town meetings, summed it up perfectly: “Are we kinda being pricks?” The crowd laughed. The golf course remains. Boston.com →

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