# Massachusetts H 5380: An Act exempting the positions of police chief and deputy police chief in the city of Medford from the civil service law

Massachusetts H 5380, An Act exempting the positions of police chief and deputy police chief in the city of Medford from the civil service law, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Paul J. Donato (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-08-21 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 192 of the Acts of 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5380-194
- 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 5380
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act exempting the positions of police chief and deputy police chief in the city of Medford from the civil service law
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-04-15
- Last action: 2026-08-21, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 192 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: Paul J. Donato (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Subjects: Public Service, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling
- 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

- Medford police leaders not under civil service: mixed, low. The law removes Medford’s police chief and deputy police chief from the civil service system. The city now sets its own hiring, promotion, and removal rules for those two roles. Anyone holding either job on the day the law took effect keeps civil service status and protections. The law takes effect…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Paul J. Donato (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Christine P. Barber (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Sean Garballey (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-07-22 | committee | Committee Favorable: Favorable Report | pass | 10 | 0 |   |

## Actions (13)

- 2026-08-21: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 192 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-08-20: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-08-20: Enacted (House)
- 2026-08-20: Read, rules suspended, read second, ordered to a third reading, read third and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-08-13: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-07-30: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House)
- 2026-07-30: Rules suspended (House)
- 2026-07-30: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House)
- 2026-07-27: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House)
- 2026-06-03: Hearing rescheduled to 06/03/2026 from 11:00 AM-11:45 AM in B-2 <br> <span style="color: blue; font-style: italic;">Hearing updated to New End Time</span> (legislature)
- 2026-05-22: Hearing scheduled for 06/03/2026 from 11:00 AM-04:00 PM in B-2 (legislature)
- 2026-04-16: Senate concurred (Senate)
- 2026-04-15: Referred to the committee on Public Service (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 192 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-08-21: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5380.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 192 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5380.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-H5380-194 (as of 2026-11-01).