# Massachusetts H 5216: An Act relative to forest protection

Massachusetts H 5216, An Act relative to forest protection, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources; status in committee, last action 2026-03-12 (Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5216-194
- 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 5216
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act relative to forest protection
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-03-12
- Last action: 2026-03-12, Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means
- Sponsor: Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
- Cosponsors: 28
- Subjects: Environment and Natural Resources, House Ways and Means
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (9 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Joint Committee on Environment and Natural Resources
- Cosponsor: Adrian C. Madaro (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Amy Mah Sangiolo (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Angelo J. Puppolo Jr. (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Bruce E. Tarr (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Carmine Lawrence Gentile (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Danillo A. Sena (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: David Paul Linsky (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Greg Schwartz (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: James Arciero (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: James C. Arena-DeRosa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Joanne M. Comerford (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: John J. Cronin (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: John R. Gaskey (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Lindsay N. Sabadosa (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Margaret R. Scarsdale (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Marjorie C. Decker (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Michael O. Moore (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Michael P. Kushmerek (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Mindy Domb (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Natalie M. Higgins (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Patrick Joseph Kearney (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Paul J. Donato (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Paul W. Mark (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Sean Garballey (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Steven Owens (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Tara T. Hong (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Thomas M. Stanley (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Vanna Howard (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-06 | committee | Committee Redraft: Should the Committee report the following bill out favorably? | pass | 9 | 0 | 1 |

## Actions (3)

- 2026-03-12: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means (House)
- 2026-03-12: New draft of H903, H952, H953 and H1048 (House)
- 2026-03-12: Reported from the committee on Environment and Natural Resources (House)

## Bill text

- As Filed: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5216.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
- [As Filed (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5216.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-H5216-194 (as of 2026-11-01).