# Massachusetts H 4321: An Act authorizing the Dalton Fire District to continue the employment of interim fire chief Christopher Francis Cachat

Massachusetts H 4321, An Act authorizing the Dalton Fire District to continue the employment of interim fire chief Christopher Francis Cachat, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Leigh Davis (Democratic), Paul W. Mark (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-07-28 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4321-194
- 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 4321
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act authorizing the Dalton Fire District to continue the employment of interim fire chief Christopher Francis Cachat
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-03-27
- Last action: 2026-07-28, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsors: Leigh Davis (Democratic), Paul W. Mark (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: House Rules, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling, Senate Rules
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 2 (17 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Cachat serves until 70; pension fixed at 65: benefit, medium. The law lets Christopher Francis Cachat keep serving as interim fire chief until age 70, or earlier retirement, removal, or suspension. He must remain physically and mentally able; the district’s board of water commissioners can require an impartial doctor’s exam at district expense. After he turns…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Leigh Davis (Democratic), House
- Sponsor: Paul W. Mark (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-07-15 | committee | Committee Place in OD: Placed in the Orders of the Day | pass | 7 | 0 |   |
| 2025-08-25 | committee | Committee Favorable: Ought to pass | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-07-28: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-07-20: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-07-20: Enacted (House)
- 2026-07-16: Read second, ordered to a third reading, read third and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-07-16: Rules suspended (Senate)
- 2026-07-16: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate)
- 2026-04-21: Read; and referred to the committee on Senate Rules (Senate)
- 2026-04-16: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-03-16: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House)
- 2025-10-14: Placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (under the last sentence of Rule 7A) 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)
- 2025-07-21: Reported, referred to the committee on Joint Rules, reported, rules suspended and referred to the committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (House)
- 2025-03-27: Referred to the committee on House Rules (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 150 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-07-28: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4321.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 150 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4321.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4321-194 (as of 2026-11-01).