# Massachusetts H 4438: An Act relative to the charter of the town of Swampscott establishing a fall annual town meeting Massachusetts H 4438, An Act relative to the charter of the town of Swampscott establishing a fall annual town meeting, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Brendan P. Crighton (Democratic), Jennifer Balinsky Armini (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-02-26 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 32 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4438-194 - 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 4438 - State: Massachusetts - Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026) - Title: An Act relative to the charter of the town of Swampscott establishing a fall annual town meeting - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-08-25 - Last action: 2026-02-26, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 32 of the Acts of 2026 - Sponsors: Brendan P. Crighton (Democratic), Jennifer Balinsky Armini (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Municipalities and Regional Government, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 1 (9 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 1 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Swampscott sets May and December Town Meetings: benefit, low. The law sets two regular Town Meetings each year in Swampscott. They meet on the third Monday in May and the first Monday in December. The Select Board can also set other times and places by listing them in the meeting warrant. If any charter or by-law conflicts, this amendment controls. The law ta… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Brendan P. Crighton (Democratic), Senate - Sponsor: Jennifer Balinsky Armini (Democratic), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2025-09-12 | committee | Committee Favorable: ought to pass | pass | 9 | 0 | | ## Actions (15) - 2026-02-26: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 32 of the Acts of 2026 - 2026-02-19: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate) - 2026-02-19: Enacted (House) - 2026-02-17: Read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate) - 2026-02-17: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (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) - 2025-10-16: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House) - 2025-10-16: Rules suspended (House) - 2025-10-16: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House) - 2025-09-22: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House) - 2025-09-04: Hearing scheduled for 09/04/2025 from 03:10 PM-01:30 PM in Written Testimony Only (legislature) - 2025-08-28: Senate concurred (Senate) - 2025-08-25: Referred to the committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (House) ## Bill text - Chapter 32 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-02-26: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4438.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 32 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4438.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-H4438-194 (as of 2026-11-01).