State Auditor Diana DiZoglio criticized the MBTA Communities Act, stating that it constitutes an unfunded mandate as it did not allocate the necessary funds for municipalities when enacted. This follows a recent Supreme Judicial Court ruling asserting the legality of the law, categorized as a 'legislative mandate.' DiZoglio emphasizes that proper funding mechanisms are necessary for compliance, while Attorney General Andrea Campbell disputes this claim, arguing it does not hinder the law's implementation and pledging to defend it against legal challenges.
"I actually fully support the zoning law but our office is not able to literally ignore that the local mandate law does require contemporaneous funding be appropriated. The law was just ruled a mandate by the SJC. That means it requires a funding mechanism as part of the law," DiZoglio wrote in a lengthy post on X.
"The Auditor's claim that the MBTA Communities Law is an unfunded mandate is wrong, and, more importantly, this letter has no effect whatsoever on implementation of the Law," Campbell said.
Collection
[
|
...
]