# Massachusetts H 5227: An Act further regulating the filling of vacancies on the city council relative to the office of ward councilor in the City of Marlborough

Massachusetts H 5227, An Act further regulating the filling of vacancies on the city council relative to the office of ward councilor in the City of Marlborough, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Danielle W. Gregoire (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-08-04 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 159 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5227-194
- 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 5227
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act further regulating the filling of vacancies on the city council relative to the office of ward councilor in the City of Marlborough
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-03-09
- Last action: 2026-08-04, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 159 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: Danielle W. Gregoire (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: Election Laws, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (11 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Faster Marlborough ward council replacements: mixed, low. The law sets clear rules for vacant Marlborough ward council seats. If the seat opens more than 12 months before the term ends, the city council orders a special ward election right away. If it opens in the last 12 months, the remaining council members pick a replacement by majority vote. In both c…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Danielle W. Gregoire (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: James B. Eldridge (Democratic), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-04-02 | committee | Committee Favorable: Poll/ Vote | pass | 11 | 0 |   |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-08-04: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 159 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-07-29: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-07-29: Enacted (House)
- 2026-07-27: Read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-07-27: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate)
- 2026-06-18: Read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate)
- 2026-05-19: Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate)
- 2026-05-18: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-04-23: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House)
- 2026-04-23: Rules suspended (House)
- 2026-04-23: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House)
- 2026-04-08: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House)
- 2026-03-12: Hearing scheduled for 03/24/2026 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-1 (legislature)
- 2026-03-12: Senate concurred (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Referred to the committee on Election Laws (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 159 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-08-04: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5227.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 159 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5227.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-H5227-194 (as of 2026-11-01).