# Massachusetts H 5412: An Act relative to the charter and the town clerk in the town of Falmouth

Massachusetts H 5412, An Act relative to the charter and the town clerk in the town of Falmouth, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Thomas P. Walsh (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-06-22 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 106 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5412-194
- 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 5412
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act relative to the charter and the town clerk in the town of Falmouth
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-05-04
- Last action: 2026-06-22, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 106 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: Thomas P. Walsh (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Touches household money: no
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 2

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Falmouth voters now elect only Moderator: cost, low. Under the charter, the only town officer voters elect is the Moderator. Other town offices are no longer filled by townwide election and are filled by appointment or other non‑elective methods.
- Falmouth Town Clerk now appointed with set pay: mixed, low. The law ends the elected Town Clerk and makes it an appointed job. The Town Manager appoints the clerk, with Select Board approval, using the charter’s normal process. The job has a set salary and fringe benefits on the town’s full‑time non‑union technical and administrative pay table. The clerk ke…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Thomas P. Walsh (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: David T. Vieira (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Dylan A. Fernandes (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Thomas W. Moakley (Democratic), House

## Actions (8)

- 2026-06-22: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 106 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-06-15: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-06-15: Enacted (House)
- 2026-06-11: Read second, ordered to a third reading, read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-06-11: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate)
- 2026-05-07: Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate)
- 2026-05-04: Passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-05-04: Substituted for H5107 (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 106 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-06-22: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5412.pdf)

## Related bills

- H 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police chief Neal Hovey (passed senate)
- H 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax abatements (signed)
- 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 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nicholas Spinale (second reading)
- 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)

## Sources
- [Chapter 106 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5412.pdf)

## Related
- [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 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax aba…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4585-194)
- [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 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nichola…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5429-194)
- [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)
- [Massachusetts bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/massachusetts/bills)
- [Massachusetts state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/massachusetts)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5412-194 (as of 2026-11-01).