# Massachusetts H 5531: An Act relative to James J. O'Neil Park

Massachusetts H 5531, An Act relative to James J. O'Neil Park, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Thomas P. Walsh (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-08-05 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 167 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5531-194
- 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 5531
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act relative to James J. O'Neil Park
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-06-24
- Last action: 2026-08-05, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 167 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: Thomas P. Walsh (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 2
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (157 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Lawrence park land swap protects open space: mixed, low. The law lets Lawrence transfer about 77 square feet of James J. O'Neil Park to MassDOT for a roadway. The city must also acquire about 363 square feet on Lawrence Street as replacement park land. The replacement land is held by the city's conservation commission for open space, conservation, and pa…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Thomas P. Walsh (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Estela A. Reyes (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Frank A. Moran (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-07-31 | House | Enacted | pass | 157 | 0 |   |

## Actions (9)

- 2026-08-05: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 167 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-07-31: Laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-07-31: Enacted -see Roll Call #230 (Yeas 39 to Nays 0) (Senate)
- 2026-07-31: Enacted - 157 YEAS to 0 NAYS (See YEA and NAY No. 257) (House)
- 2026-07-31: Read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-07-31: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate)
- 2026-06-29: Read, rules suspended, read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate)
- 2026-06-24: Passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-06-24: Substituted for H4614 (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 167 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-08-05: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5531.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 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the position of firefighter in the town of Dudley (signed)
- 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)

## Sources
- [Chapter 167 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5531.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 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the p…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5520-194)
- [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)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5531-194 (as of 2026-11-01).