# Massachusetts H 5102: An Act relative to the town of Reading Home Rule Charter

Massachusetts H 5102, An Act relative to the town of Reading Home Rule Charter, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by no sponsor on record; status signed, last action 2026-06-17 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 105 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5102-194
- 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 5102
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act relative to the town of Reading Home Rule Charter
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-11
- Last action: 2026-06-17, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 105 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsors: no sponsor on record
- 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: 6

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Filling Town Meeting seats between elections: benefit, low. If a Town Meeting seat opens, remaining members of that precinct pick a temporary member. The temporary member serves until the next Annual Town Election. The Town Clerk must give written notice to remaining precinct members and publish a local notice. The notice must give at least seven days’ warn…
- New recall petition steps and thresholds: benefit, low. To start a recall, an affidavit must have signatures from 2% of registered voters and at least 25 voters from each precinct. It must name the officer, state the grounds, and detail a breach of sworn duties. The Town Clerk sends it to the Registrars within 24 hours. If certified, the Clerk issues bl…
- Town Meeting membership and removal rules: cost, low. A Town Meeting Member can resign by giving written notice to the Town Clerk. Leaving Reading ends your membership. If you move to a different precinct, you serve only until the next Annual Town Election. A seat may be declared vacant for missing half or more of sessions in the year before the most…
- Charter changes start after voter approval: mixed, low. These charter changes take effect only after voters approve further amendments at a local election. The further amendments were adopted under Article 8 of the November 10, 2025 special town meeting. Until voters approve those changes, this Act does not take effect.
- Clearer majority vote rule for boards: mixed, low. A “majority vote” now means more than half of those present and voting, when a quorum is present. This applies to Reading’s boards, committees, and similar bodies. It clarifies how many yes votes are needed to take action.
- Stronger Town Manager hiring and backup plan: mixed, low. The Select Board must hire a Town Manager based on executive and administrative skills. The person needs at least 3 years as a city/town manager or assistant, or 5 years of similar-level experience. The manager has a written contract up to 3 years, works full time, and generally cannot hold other t…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- (none)

## 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 105 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)
- 2026-04-08: Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate)
- 2026-04-06: 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)
- 2026-02-26: Hearing scheduled for 03/03/2026 from 01:00 PM-03:00 PM in 222 (legislature)
- 2026-02-12: Senate concurred (Senate)
- 2026-02-11: Referred to the committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 105 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-06-17: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5102.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 105 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5102.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5102-194 (as of 2026-11-01).