# Massachusetts H 5463: An Act relative to a conservation restriction in the town of Middleton

Massachusetts H 5463, An Act relative to a conservation restriction in the town of Middleton, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Bradley H. Jones Jr. (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-08-05 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 170 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5463-194
- 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 5463
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act relative to a conservation restriction in the town of Middleton
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-05-28
- Last action: 2026-08-05, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 170 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: Bradley H. Jones Jr. (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Subjects: Municipalities and Regional Government, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (169 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Middleton land release and new protection: mixed, low. The law lets the Middleton Conservation Commission release about 38,197 square feet from a past conservation restriction to fix a violation. Before any release, the commission must accept a new conservation restriction on Lot 10A, about 9.33 acres, so there is no net loss under Article 97. Monastie…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Bradley H. Jones Jr. (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: Bruce E. Tarr (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Sally P. Kerans (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-07-30 | House | Enacted | pass | 158 | 0 |   |
| 2026-06-24 | committee | Committee Favorable: ought to pass | pass | 11 | 0 |   |

## Actions (15)

- 2026-08-05: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 170 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-07-30: Laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-07-30: Enacted -see Roll Call #223 (Yeas 39 to Nays 0) (Senate)
- 2026-07-30: Enacted - 158 YEAS to 0 NAYS (See YEA and NAY No. 246) (House)
- 2026-07-29: Read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-07-29: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate)
- 2026-07-16: Read, rules suspended, read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate)
- 2026-07-13: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-07-02: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House)
- 2026-07-02: Rules suspended (House)
- 2026-07-02: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House)
- 2026-07-01: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House)
- 2026-06-11: Hearing scheduled for 06/23/2026 from 01:00 PM-03:00 PM in A-1 (legislature)
- 2026-06-04: Senate concurred (Senate)
- 2026-05-28: Referred to the committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 170 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-08-05: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5463.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 170 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5463.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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5463-194 (as of 2026-11-01).