# Massachusetts H 4738: An Act regarding special meetings of the Holyoke City Council

Massachusetts H 4738, An Act regarding special meetings of the Holyoke City Council, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Patricia A. Duffy (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-06-17 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 104 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4738-194
- 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 4738
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act regarding special meetings of the Holyoke City Council
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-11-10
- Last action: 2026-06-17, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 104 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: Patricia A. Duffy (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

- New rules for Holyoke council meetings: benefit, low. The law lets the Mayor or the City Council President call a special meeting at any time. Written notice with the meeting subjects must reach all councilors at least 48 hours before. Notices are sent electronically by default. Councilors can choose mail, hand delivery to their home, or delivery to t…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Patricia A. Duffy (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-06 | committee | Committee Favorable: ought to pass | pass | 11 | 0 |   |

## Actions (16)

- 2026-06-17: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 104 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-06-11: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-06-10: Enacted (House)
- 2026-06-08: Read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-06-08: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate)
- 2026-04-15: Read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate)
- 2026-04-06: Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate)
- 2026-04-02: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-03-16: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House)
- 2026-03-16: Rules suspended (House)
- 2026-03-16: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House)
- 2026-03-12: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House)
- 2026-03-03: Hearing rescheduled to 03/03/2026 from 01:00 PM-01:30 PM in 222 and Virtual<br> <span style="color: blue; font-style: italic;">Hearing updated to New End Time</span> (legislature)
- 2026-02-12: Hearing scheduled for 03/03/2026 from 01:00 PM-03:00 PM in 222 (legislature)
- 2026-01-07: Senate concurred (Senate)
- 2025-11-10: Referred to the committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 104 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-06-17: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4738.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 4755: An Act amending the means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in the town of Sudbury (signed)
- 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)

## Sources
- [Chapter 104 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4738.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 4755: An Act amending the means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in the t…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4755-194)
- [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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4738-194 (as of 2026-11-01).