# Massachusetts H 5053: An Act establishing a charter for the town of Orange Massachusetts H 5053, An Act establishing a charter for the town of Orange, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Joanne M. Comerford (Democratic), Susannah M. Whipps (Independent); status signed, last action 2026-06-30 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 116 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5053-194 - 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 5053 - State: Massachusetts - Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026) - Title: An Act establishing a charter for the town of Orange - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-02-02 - Last action: 2026-06-30, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 116 of the Acts of 2026 - Sponsors: Joanne M. Comerford (Democratic), Susannah M. Whipps (Independent) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Municipalities and Regional Government, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling, Bills in the Third Reading - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 1 (11 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 25 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - No loss of pay or tenure in transition: benefit, low. Officials serving when the Charter takes effect keep serving until successors qualify or duties change. Regular full-time and part-time town employees do not lose pay grade or longevity because of this Charter. Officers with tenure keep that tenure. - Budget timelines and spending controls: benefit, low. The law sets a clear budget calendar. The Town Manager submits a full budget and message at least 60 days before Annual Town Meeting. The Finance Committee holds public meetings and shares recommendations at least 14 days before. The Town Manager presents the budget, and Town Meeting adopts it. All… - Five-member Select Board and powers: benefit, low. The Select Board has five at-large members serving overlapping 3-year terms. Vacancies are filled by special election under state law. Within six months of appointing a Town Manager, the Board adopts written policies and reviews them within 90 days after each annual election. The Board appoints the… - Five-year capital plan with hearings: benefit, low. The town creates a five-member Capital Program Committee of residents (no town employees or officers). It studies land buys or projects of $25,000 or more that last three years or longer. Boards must send five-year project lists by December 1 each year. The Committee files a yearly capital budget,… - Local elections timing and rules: benefit, low. Town elections are held the first Monday in March. All town elections are nonpartisan, and ballots show no party labels. Any registered voter in town can run for any elective town office. The town draws precincts that are compact, contiguous, and close in population. - More open records for town business: benefit, low. Town boards must organize yearly, adopt rules, keep minutes, and file public records with the Town Clerk. All appointment and removal notices must be filed with the Clerk as public records. If the Select Board holds a removal hearing, the hearing transcript is also a public record. - New town government and powers: benefit, low. The law sets an Open Town Meeting, a Select Board with executive power, and a Town Manager. The Select Board can make rules on town elections and policies, but actions that need money only take effect if Town Meeting funds them. The Town may use all powers allowed by state law and can work with oth… - Sewer and wastewater board setup: benefit, low. The Moderator appoints three residents to the Sewer and Wastewater Commission for staggered three‑year terms. One member must have public works or engineering experience and one must have finance or accounting experience. The commission must send an annual report to the Town Manager. - Smooth switch to the new charter: benefit, low. The charter takes effect on the next July 1 after local voter approval and required state approvals. Existing bylaws and acts stay in force unless they conflict with the charter. A five‑member Bylaw Revision Committee must be appointed within 30 days, and the Clerk must republish bylaws. When funct… - Town Meeting rules and voter access: benefit, low. Annual Town Meeting is the second Monday in May. Ten voters can add an item to the Annual warrant. For a Special Meeting, 100 voters or 10% of voters (whichever is less) can add items, and 200 voters or 20% (whichever is less) can force a Special Meeting within 45 days. Town Meeting follows the Tow… - Town Meeting rules and voter access: benefit, low. All registered voters legislate in an Open Town Meeting. At least 75 voters must be present to do business. The Select Board prepares meeting warrants, which close 60 days before the Annual Town Meeting. Warrants are posted online and in four public places at least 14 days before. The Board deliver… - Town services grouped into three divisions: benefit, low. Town services are organized into Finance & Administration, Public Safety, and Public Services. The Town Manager oversees these functions and named departments such as Highway, Parks, Cemetery, Sanitation, Water, and Sewer & Wastewater. If a Public Works Division is created, those departments move u… - Voters keep control of town budget: benefit, low. Town Meeting votes on operating and capital budgets, bond issues, and other financial plans. Operating items appear in one omnibus article, and regular capital items in one omnibus article. State financial laws apply along with this charter. These rules keep budget power with voters and standardize… - Which town offices you elect: benefit, low. Voters elect the Town Clerk, Moderator, Library Trustees, Select Board, Board of Health, Water Commission, Cemetery Commission, Housing Authority, Elementary School Committee, Orange members of the Mahar Regional School Committee, Soldiers’ Memorial Trustees, and Constables. Constables serve three‑… - You can recall elected officials: benefit, low. Any elected town official can be recalled. Start by filing an affidavit signed by 150 voters; then return petitions within 30 days signed by at least 10% of voters. If certified, the Select Board must schedule a recall election 60–120 days later (or use a regular election set within 60–90 days). Th… - Stronger planning and environmental reviews: benefit, low. The Town Manager appoints a five-member Planning Board to 3-year terms. The Board develops a master plan and gives recommendations at least 60 days before Town Meeting. The plan guides reviews of major developments. The Town Manager may hire a qualified planning director when funds are appropriated… - Merit hiring and clear personnel rules: benefit, low. All town hiring and promotions are based on merit proven by exams or other solid evidence. The Town Manager proposes full personnel rules on job classes, pay plans, hiring and promotion methods, layoffs, leave, provisional hires, training, and grievances. The Select Board votes on these rules in pu… - School budgets due by Feb. 1: benefit, low. Orange members of the regional and elementary school committees serve overlapping 3-year terms. Each committee must submit its adopted budget to the Town Manager by February 1 each year. - Cooling-off period for ex-officials taking town jobs: cost, low. A person who held an elected office on a board or commission cannot take a paid town job under that body during their term. They also cannot take such a job for one year after their term ends. - Clear rules for vacancies and removal: mixed, low. Appointing authorities may rescind appointments, but must give written notice first. They may declare a seat vacant for missing four meetings in a row or over one-quarter in a year, with notice. Vacancies on appointed boards are filled for the unexpired term; if not filled in 30 days, remaining mem… - Election clerk duties and bylaw re-vote limits: mixed, low. The Town Clerk and Board of Registrars recommend election officers and carry out duties set by law and the Charter. If voters later make the Clerk an appointed job, the Town Manager appoints and a majority of the full Select Board approves. Anyone elected starts work after certification and taking… - Faster recalls with clear timing limits: mixed, low. The Town Clerk must send a recall petition to the registrars within 3 business days. Registrars must certify voter signatures within 5 business days. No recall is allowed if the official’s term ends within 6 months of filing the recall certificate. No petition is allowed in the first 90 days after… - Rules to hire and oversee the Town Manager: mixed, low. The Select Board appoints the Town Manager by at least four votes and sets pay within the budget approved by Town Meeting. A candidate needs a bachelor’s degree or at least three years of full-time executive experience, and cannot have held Orange elected office in the prior two years. The Board mu… - Town Manager control over hiring and reorg: mixed, low. The Town Manager negotiates labor contracts, acts as Chief Procurement Officer, and may name procurement officers. With Select Board approval, the manager can create, merge, or abolish departments and offices, consistent with state law. The manager hires, disciplines, and can remove most town emplo… - Housing Authority members and terms set: mixed, low. The town’s Housing Authority has five members. One is appointed by the state and four are elected. All serve five‑year overlapping terms. ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Joanne M. Comerford (Democratic), Senate - Sponsor: Susannah M. Whipps (Independent), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-03-06 | committee | Committee Favorable: ought to pass | pass | 11 | 0 | | ## Actions (20) - 2026-06-30: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 116 of the Acts of 2026 - 2026-06-29: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate) - 2026-06-29: Enacted (House) - 2026-06-29: House concurred in the Senate amendment (House) - 2026-06-22: Referred to the committee on Bills in the Third Reading (House) - 2026-06-18: Passed to be engrossed (Senate) - 2026-06-18: Amended (Comerford) by striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting in place thereof the text of S3135 (Senate) - 2026-06-18: Read third (Senate) - 2026-06-18: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate) - 2026-06-11: Read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate) - 2026-04-16: Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate) - 2026-04-13: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House) - 2026-03-23: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House) - 2026-03-23: Rules suspended (House) - 2026-03-23: 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
Hearing updated to New End Time (legislature) - 2026-02-12: Hearing scheduled for 03/03/2026 from 01:00 PM-03:00 PM in 222 (legislature) - 2026-02-05: Senate concurred (Senate) - 2026-02-02: Referred to the committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (House) ## Bill text - Chapter 116 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-06-30: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5053.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 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 116 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5053.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 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-H5053-194 (as of 2026-11-01).