# Massachusetts H 4814: An Act authorizing the town of Westwood to reissue licenses for the sale of wine and malt beverages not to be drunk on the premises and grant licenses for the sale of all alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises Massachusetts H 4814, An Act authorizing the town of Westwood to reissue licenses for the sale of wine and malt beverages not to be drunk on the premises and grant licenses for the sale of all alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure; status signed, last action 2026-01-30 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 14 of the Acts of 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4814-194 - 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 4814 - State: Massachusetts - Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026) - Title: An Act authorizing the town of Westwood to reissue licenses for the sale of wine and malt beverages not to be drunk on the premises and grant licenses for the sale of all alcoholic beverages not to be drunk on the premises - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-12-08 - Last action: 2026-01-30, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 14 of the Acts of 2026 - Sponsor: Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure - Cosponsors: 2 - Subjects: Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling - Touches household money: yes - Economic provisions PRIA read: 2 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Large Westwood groceries can sell alcohol: benefit, medium. The law lets Westwood license large food stores to sell all alcoholic drinks for off-site use. A food store must have at least 20,000 square feet and sell meats, dairy, eggs, produce, baked goods, canned goods, and dessert items. Convenience, specialty, and gasoline stores do not qualify. The selec… - Stricter license transfers, easier reissue in Westwood: mixed, medium. The law does not allow moving an alcohol license to a new location. A new applicant can get a license at the same or another suitable site only after filing letters from the Massachusetts Department of Revenue and the Department of Unemployment Assistance. The letters must state good standing and t… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Joint Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure - Cosponsor: Michael F. Rush (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: Paul McMurtry (Democratic), House ## Actions (13) - 2026-01-30: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 14 of the Acts of 2026 - 2026-01-22: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate) - 2026-01-22: Enacted (House) - 2026-01-15: Read third and passed to be engrossed (Senate) - 2026-01-15: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate) - 2025-12-29: Read, rules suspended, read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate) - 2025-12-24: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House) - 2025-12-15: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House) - 2025-12-15: Rules suspended (House) - 2025-12-15: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House) - 2025-12-08: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House) - 2025-12-08: New draft of H4188 (House) - 2025-12-08: Reported from the committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure (House) ## Bill text - Chapter 14 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-01-30: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4814.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 14 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H4814.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) - [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-H4814-194 (as of 2026-11-01).