# Massachusetts H 2268: An Act Bridgewater town charter article II, legislative branch section 2-13(a) annual stipend

Massachusetts H 2268, An Act Bridgewater town charter article II, legislative branch section 2-13(a) annual stipend, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Dennis C. Gallagher (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-02-12 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H2268-194
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Massachusetts H 2268
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act Bridgewater town charter article II, legislative branch section 2-13(a) annual stipend
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-02-27
- Last action: 2026-02-12, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: Dennis C. Gallagher (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Municipalities and Regional Government, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 1 (11 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 3

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Fixed stipends for Bridgewater councilors: benefit, high. Each Town Council member gets $5,000 a year, paid after the year ends. The Council President gets $7,500, also paid in arrears. Incumbent councilors earn the year’s stipend as of each annual Town Election Day. If you win a special election or are appointed mid‑year, you get a pro‑rated share from y…
- No town benefits for councilors: cost, low. Council members are not eligible for town benefits. This applies even if they receive the stipend.
- Limits on changing council pay: mixed, low. The Town Council can change stipends by ordinance. Any raise or cut cannot take effect in the year it is voted. No changes are allowed between a council election and when the new council is sworn in. Changes must follow state law (Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 39, Section 6A).

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Dennis C. Gallagher (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-07-02 | committee | Committee Favorable: Ought to Pass | pass | 11 | 0 |   |

## Actions (14)

- 2026-02-12: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-02-09: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-02-09: Enacted (House)
- 2026-02-05: Read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-02-05: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate)
- 2025-10-02: Read, rules suspended, read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate)
- 2025-09-29: Read third (title changed), amended and passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2025-07-23: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House)
- 2025-07-23: Rules suspended (House)
- 2025-07-23: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House)
- 2025-07-10: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House)
- 2025-05-05: Hearing scheduled for 05/13/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in B-1 (legislature)
- 2025-02-27: Senate concurred (Senate)
- 2025-02-27: Referred to the committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-02-12: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H2268.pdf)

## Related bills

- H 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax abatements (signed)
- H 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police chief Neal Hovey (passed senate)
- H 5515: An Act to increase the value of estates eligible for abatements pursuant to M.G.L. chapter 59, section 5, clauses seventeenth D and forty-first C in the town o… (passed house)
- H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the position of firefighter in the town of Dudley (signed)
- H 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nicholas Spinale (second reading)
- H 3909: An Act authorizing the Provincetown year-round market rate rental housing trust to acquire year-round housing occupancy restrictions (signed)

## Sources
- [Chapter 20 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H2268.pdf)

## Related
- [H 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax aba…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4585-194)
- [H 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police ch…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5435-194)
- [H 5515: An Act to increase the value of estates eligible for abatements pursuant to M.G…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5515-194)
- [H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the p…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5520-194)
- [H 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nichola…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5429-194)
- [H 3909: An Act authorizing the Provincetown year-round market rate rental housing trust…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H3909-194)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H2268-194 (as of 2026-11-01).