# Massachusetts H 4506: An Act authorizing the town of Conway to continue the employment of fire department member Howard Boyden Massachusetts H 4506, An Act authorizing the town of Conway to continue the employment of fire department member Howard Boyden, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Natalie M. Blais (Democratic), Paul W. Mark (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-08-04 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 161 of the Acts of 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4506-194 - 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 4506 - State: Massachusetts - Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026) - Title: An Act authorizing the town of Conway to continue the employment of fire department member Howard Boyden - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-09-11 - Last action: 2026-08-04, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 161 of the Acts of 2026 - Sponsors: Natalie M. Blais (Democratic), Paul W. Mark (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Public Service, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling, Bills in the Third Reading - Touches household money: yes - Roll calls: 1 (10 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 1 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Howard Boyden can serve until 70: benefit, low. The law lets Conway firefighter Howard Boyden keep serving until he turns 70, retires, is removed, or is suspended, whichever comes first. He must stay physically and mentally able to do the job. The town must designate and pay an impartial doctor to check his fitness. After he turns 65, no pension… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Natalie M. Blais (Democratic), House - Sponsor: Paul W. Mark (Democratic), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-01-09 | committee | Committee Favorable: Favorable Report | pass | 10 | 0 | | ## Actions (17) - 2026-08-04: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 161 of the Acts of 2026 - 2026-07-31: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate) - 2026-07-31: Enacted (House) - 2026-07-31: House concurred in the Senate amendment (House) - 2026-07-31: Rules suspended (House) - 2026-07-20: Referred to the committee on Bills in the Third Reading (House) - 2026-07-16: Read third, amended and passed to be engrossed (Senate) - 2026-04-09: Read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate) - 2026-03-23: Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate) - 2026-03-19: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House) - 2026-03-02: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House) - 2026-03-02: Rules suspended (House) - 2026-03-02: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House) - 2026-02-02: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House) - 2025-10-02: Hearing scheduled for 10/15/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in B-1 (legislature) - 2025-09-15: Senate concurred (Senate) - 2025-09-11: Referred to the committee on Public Service (House) ## Bill text - Chapter 161 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-08-04: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4506.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 161 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4506.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-H4506-194 (as of 2026-11-01).