Investigation into the use of NDAs among state agencies facing ‘delays,’ Auditor DiZoglio says

Auditor Diana DiZoglio said she is running into delays and “disagreements” about what documents are necessary to complete an investigation into the use of nondisclosure agreements among state agencies, including those run by Gov. Maura Healey.

DiZoglio, a long-time advocate for banning such agreements, said her office has been looking into their use in state government since July 2023 and has requested 12 years’ worth of documents from various state entities.

But the probe, which DiZolgio pledged to undertake while on the campaign trail and covers a wide range of organizations like state colleges, is hitting roadblocks, the auditor said.

“We have had a tremendous challenge getting access to all the documents that we need in order to be able to complete that report, struggling with delays from state entities getting us documents that we’ve requested,” she told reporters at the State House.

DiZoglio declined to discuss the details of the review but said her office has at times waited between two to six months to get access to documents. She at first did not say which agencies were slow-walking the release of information but later said “those are within the executive department.”

A spokesperson for Healey did not immediately respond to a Herald inquiry.

The auditor said she met “recently” with Healey, who indicated “her intention to assist ensuring that we do get access to our documents in a timely fashion.”

“She has asked that myself, along with our general counsel, that we reach out if we are getting delays on issues so that we can work together to make sure that the governor’s office is in touch with those state agencies to ensure that we are not struggling as often with those delays,” DiZoglio said.

DiZoglio expressed frustration with the audit of state agencies one day after her office released an investigation into the Massachusetts Convention Center Authority that found “disturbing and unlawful practices.”

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The report alleged the authority — which oversees the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, The Lawn on D, the Hynes Convention Center, MassMutual Center, and Boston Common Garage — violated state law when executing a $1.2 million nondisclosure agreement that concealed “allegations of racial discrimination.”

Officials at the convention center authority said the actions occurred under prior leadership.

A separate investigation into the authority published in October 2023 found Black employees tended to “feel isolated or marginalized.”

“Even when employees of color complain about advancement or other employment decisions, authority management rarely understands or even considers the potential underlying racial implications of this discontent,” the report found.

DiZoglio also proposed an executive order Tuesday that would ban the use of nondisclosure agreements and confidentiality clauses in settlement agreements drawn up by the state, a move she argued would help expedite her investigation into their use among state agencies.

“The use of settlement or non-disclosure agreements by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and its instrumentalities can obscure from public view, and therefore appropriate public accountability, bad acts by state agencies, their managers, employees contractors or others,” the proposed order said.

DiZoglio released the order the morning she was supposed to become acting governor with Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, and Secretary of State Bill Galvin out of state for the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

But Driscoll changed her plans and delayed her departure to Illinois until Galvin returned to Massachusetts Tuesday afternoon, DiZoglio said.

DiZoglio said she would not have signed the executive order if she had become acting governor, telling reporters that would not “have been a way to make meaningful and positive change, positioning an administration to come home to a signed executive order.”

“If this was the previous administration, I likely would have very strongly considered signing this proposal if I would have been acting governor during the previous administration,” she said. “The previous administration repeatedly and consistently opposed any and all reforms to abuse the use of taxpayer dollars and the use of these nondisclosure agreements after years of my attempting to work alongside of them.”

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