# Massachusetts H 5569: An Act relative to property tax classifications in the city of Watertown for fiscal year 2027 and subsequent fiscal years

Massachusetts H 5569, An Act relative to property tax classifications in the city of Watertown for fiscal year 2027 and subsequent fiscal years, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by House Committee on Ways and Means; status signed, last action 2026-07-31 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 157 of the Acts of 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5569-194
- 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 5569
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act relative to property tax classifications in the city of Watertown for fiscal year 2027 and subsequent fiscal years
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-07-08
- Last action: 2026-07-31, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 157 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: House Committee on Ways and Means
- Cosponsors: 2
- Subjects: House Ways and Means
- Touches household money: yes
- Roll calls: 1 (150 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Homeowner tax share rules in Watertown: mixed, medium. Beginning in fiscal year 2027, Watertown uses a minimum residential factor of 50%. The Commissioner of Revenue must raise that factor, if needed, so no property class bears more than 175% of taxes relative to its full and fair cash valuation. This changes how the city splits the total property tax…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: House Committee on Ways and Means
- Cosponsor: John J. Lawn Jr. (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Steven Owens (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-07-08 | House | Passed to be engrossed | pass | 150 | 0 |   |

## Bill text

- Chapter 157 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-07-31: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5569.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 157 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5569.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-H5569-194 (as of 2026-11-01).