# Massachusetts H 4212: An Act authorizing the town of Lancaster to dissolve its animal control commission

Massachusetts H 4212, An Act authorizing the town of Lancaster to dissolve its animal control commission, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by John J. Cronin (Democratic), Meghan K. Kilcoyne (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-05-12 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 77 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4212-194
- 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 4212
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act authorizing the town of Lancaster to dissolve its animal control commission
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-06-09
- Last action: 2026-05-12, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 77 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsors: John J. Cronin (Democratic), Meghan K. Kilcoyne (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Municipalities and Regional Government, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (11 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Repeals 2004 Lancaster animal-control law: mixed, low. The law repeals Chapter 179 of the Acts of 2004. It removes the special rule that let Lancaster dissolve its animal control commission. It takes effect upon passage. Lancaster now follows general state laws and local actions for animal control.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: John J. Cronin (Democratic), Senate
- Sponsor: Meghan K. Kilcoyne (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2025-07-25 | committee | Committee Favorable: Ought to Pass | pass | 11 | 0 |   |

## Bill text

- Chapter 77 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-05-12: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4212.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 3909: An Act authorizing the Provincetown year-round market rate rental housing trust to acquire year-round housing occupancy restrictions (signed)
- 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)

## Sources
- [Chapter 77 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4212.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 3909: An Act authorizing the Provincetown year-round market rate rental housing trust…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H3909-194)
- [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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4212-194 (as of 2026-11-01).