# Massachusetts H 5288: An Act authorizing the City of Westfield to establish an age limit for original appointment to the position of firefighter

Massachusetts H 5288, An Act authorizing the City of Westfield to establish an age limit for original appointment to the position of firefighter, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Joint Committee on Public Service; status signed, last action 2026-08-28 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 200 of the Acts of 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5288-194
- 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 5288
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act authorizing the City of Westfield to establish an age limit for original appointment to the position of firefighter
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-03-30
- Last action: 2026-08-28, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 200 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: Joint Committee on Public Service
- Cosponsors: 2
- Subjects: Public Service, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 1 (9 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Age cap for Westfield firefighter hires: cost, medium. Westfield sets an age limit for new firefighter hires. You cannot be certified for an original firefighter job if you are 40 or older on the exam date. This applies only to original appointments in the City of Westfield, not promotions or transfers. The rule overrides other state rules for Westfiel…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Joint Committee on Public Service
- Cosponsor: Kelly W. Pease (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Michael J. Finn (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-18 | committee | Committee Redraft: Favorable as Redrafted | pass | 9 | 0 | 1 |

## Actions (14)

- 2026-08-28: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 200 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-08-24: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-08-24: Enacted (House)
- 2026-08-20: Read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-08-20: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate)
- 2026-06-18: Read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate)
- 2026-06-01: Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate)
- 2026-05-28: Read third, amended and passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-04-09: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House)
- 2026-04-09: Rules suspended (House)
- 2026-04-09: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House)
- 2026-03-30: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House)
- 2026-03-30: New draft of H4315 (House)
- 2026-03-30: Reported from the committee on Public Service (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 200 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-08-28: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5288.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 200 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5288.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-H5288-194 (as of 2026-11-01).