# Massachusetts H 5110: An Act authorizing the town of Petersham to continue the employment of police department members Richard D. Cooley Jr. and David A. Shoemaker

Massachusetts H 5110, An Act authorizing the town of Petersham to continue the employment of police department members Richard D. Cooley Jr. and David A. Shoemaker, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Aaron L. Saunders (Democratic), Joanne M. Comerford (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-10-09 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 236 of the Acts of 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5110-194
- 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 5110
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act authorizing the town of Petersham to continue the employment of police department members Richard D. Cooley Jr. and David A. Shoemaker
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-02-12
- Last action: 2026-10-09, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 236 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsors: Aaron L. Saunders (Democratic), Joanne M. Comerford (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

- Two Petersham officers can work until 70: benefit, high. Effective upon passage, the law lets Petersham keep employing police officers Richard D. Cooley Jr. and David A. Shoemaker. They can serve until age 70, retirement, or removal from duty, whichever comes first, despite other retirement-age laws. Both must remain mentally and physically able to do th…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Aaron L. Saunders (Democratic), House
- Sponsor: Joanne M. Comerford (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-05-08 | committee | Committee Favorable: Favorable Report | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (20)

- 2026-10-09: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 236 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-10-01: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-10-01: Enacted (House)
- 2026-09-28: House concurred in the Senate amendment (House)
- 2026-08-24: Referred to the committee on Bills in the Third Reading (House)
- 2026-08-20: Read third, amended and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-08-20: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate)
- 2026-08-06: Read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate)
- 2026-08-06: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate)
- 2026-07-23: Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate)
- 2026-07-22: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-07-22: Rules suspended (House)
- 2026-05-18: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House)
- 2026-05-18: Rules suspended (House)
- 2026-05-18: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House)
- 2026-05-11: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House)
- 2026-03-11: Hearing rescheduled to 03/11/2026 from 01:00 PM-01:25 PM in A-1 and Virtual<br> <span style="color: blue; font-style: italic;">Hearing updated to New End Time</span> (legislature)
- 2026-02-27: Hearing scheduled for 03/11/2026 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-1 (legislature)
- 2026-02-17: Senate concurred (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Referred to the committee on Public Service (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 236 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-10-09: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5110.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 236 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5110.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-H5110-194 (as of 2026-11-01).