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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3973 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2749 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Mike Connolly |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act to improve oversight of state government. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Mike Connolly26th Middlesex1/20/2023Auditor Diana DizoglioMassachusetts State House, Room 230, |
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| 16 | 16 | | Boston, MA 02133 |
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| 17 | 17 | | 1/20/2023 1 of 2 |
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| 18 | 18 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 3973 FILED ON: 1/20/2023 |
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| 19 | 19 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 2749 |
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| 20 | 20 | | By Representative Connolly of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2749) of |
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| 21 | 21 | | Mike Connolly and Auditor Diana Dizoglio relative to the state auditor’s access to tax returns |
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| 22 | 22 | | and related tax records already in the possession of the Department of Revenue. Revenue. |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act to improve oversight of state government. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 SECTION 1. Section 12 of chapter 11 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in each instance they appear, the words “, |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3except tax returns”. |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4 SECTION 2. Subsection (b) of section 21 of chapter 62C of the General Laws, as so |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after paragraph (31) the following paragraphs:- |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6 (32) notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, including without |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7limitation section 20 of this chapter, the state auditor’s access to tax returns and related tax |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8records already in the possession of the department of revenue, but excluding information |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9provided to the commonwealth by other federal and state tax agencies where such access is |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10precluded by law or agreement, necessary for the audit of the department of revenue or the audit |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11of any agencies or programs that use tax returns and related tax records to determine program |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12eligibility including, but not limited to, audits of child support enforcement oversight, review of 2 of 2 |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13municipal tax receipts, and public benefits wage matching; provided, however, that the identity |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14of any specific taxpayer, any audit workpapers or other work product associated with any |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15specific taxpayer, and any tax return or related document filed by a specific taxpayer shall be |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16deemed to be confidential information and not a public record, shall not be included in any |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17published audit report, and shall be maintained as confidential information in accordance with |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18government auditing standards issued by the Comptroller General of the United States; and |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19provided, further, that any such audit shall be conducted for the sole purposes of evaluating the |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20performance of the state agency or program, and not for the purpose of auditing any specific |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21taxpayer. |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22 (33) notwithstanding any special or general law to the contrary, including without |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23limitation section 20 of this chapter, the state auditor’s access to tax returns and related tax |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24records already in the possession of the department of revenue, but excluding information |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25provided to the commonwealth by other federal and state tax agencies where such access is |
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| 56 | 56 | | 26precluded by law or agreement, necessary for the audit of tax expenditures, as defined in section |
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| 57 | 57 | | 271 of chapter 29; provided, however, that the identity of any specific taxpayer, any audit |
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| 58 | 58 | | 28workpapers or other work product associated with any specific taxpayer, and any tax return or |
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| 59 | 59 | | 29related document filed by a specific taxpayer shall be deemed to be confidential information and |
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| 60 | 60 | | 30not a public record, shall not be included in any published audit report, and shall be maintained |
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| 61 | 61 | | 31as confidential information in accordance with government auditing standards issued by the |
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| 62 | 62 | | 32Comptroller General of the United States; and provided, further, that any such audit shall be |
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| 63 | 63 | | 33conducted for the sole purposes of examining, evaluating and reporting on the administration, |
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| 64 | 64 | | 34effectiveness and fiscal impact of tax expenditures, and not for the purpose of auditing any |
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| 65 | 65 | | 35specific taxpayer. |
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