# Massachusetts H 4312: An Act relative to charter changes for the town of Longmeadow Massachusetts H 4312, An Act relative to charter changes for the town of Longmeadow, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Brian M. Ashe (Democratic), Jacob R. Oliveira (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-06-22 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 107 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4312-194 - 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 4312 - State: Massachusetts - Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026) - Title: An Act relative to charter changes for the town of Longmeadow - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-07-23 - Last action: 2026-06-22, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 107 of the Acts of 2026 - Sponsors: Brian M. Ashe (Democratic), Jacob R. Oliveira (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Municipalities and Regional Government, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 1 (10 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - New capital planning and building committee: benefit, low. The law creates a Capital Planning and Building Committee. It reviews the Town Manager’s yearly capital plan and the five‑year program. It can suggest funding priority changes after hearing from residents. The Select Board must hold a public hearing before voting. It then sends the plan with the bu… - Finance Committee limits and planning seat: mixed, low. The law bars any town officer, any town or school board or committee member, and any town or school employee from serving on the Finance Committee. The Finance Committee must also choose one of its members to serve on the Capital Planning and Building Committee. This prevents officers and employees… - Select Board gains light board powers: mixed, low. The law makes the Select Board the town’s municipal light board and gives it all light‑board powers under state law. The Select Board may instead appoint a separate three‑member light board. Initial terms are one, two, and three years. After that, each term is three years. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Brian M. Ashe (Democratic), House - Sponsor: Jacob R. Oliveira (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-08-25 | committee | Committee Favorable: Ought to pass | pass | 10 | 0 | | ## Actions (14) - 2026-06-22: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 107 of the Acts of 2026 - 2026-06-15: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate) - 2026-06-15: Enacted (House) - 2026-06-11: Read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate) - 2025-11-13: Read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate) - 2025-11-03: Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate) - 2025-10-30: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House) - 2025-10-14: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House) - 2025-10-14: Rules suspended (House) - 2025-10-14: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting for a second reading (House) - 2025-09-08: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House) - 2025-08-14: Hearing scheduled for 08/14/2025 from 10:00 AM-5:00 PM in Written Testimony Only (legislature) - 2025-07-24: Senate concurred (Senate) - 2025-07-23: Referred to the committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (House) ## Bill text - Chapter 107 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-06-22: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4312.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 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nicholas Spinale (second reading) - H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the position of firefighter in the town of Dudley (signed) ## Sources - [Chapter 107 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4312.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 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nichola…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5429-194) - [H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the p…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5520-194) - [Massachusetts bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/massachusetts/bills) - [Massachusetts state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/massachusetts) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4312-194 (as of 2026-11-01).