# Massachusetts H 5616: An Act authorizing the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to take easements over certain land located in the city of Woburn and the town of Burlington held in trust by the city of Boston for the Mary P. C. Cummings Testamentary Trust for highway purposes

Massachusetts H 5616, An Act authorizing the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to take easements over certain land located in the city of Woburn and the town of Burlington held in trust by the city of Boston for the Mary P. C. Cummings Testamentary Trust for highway purposes, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by House Committee on Ways and Means; status signed, last action 2026-08-06 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 173 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5616-194
- 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 5616
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act authorizing the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to take easements over certain land located in the city of Woburn and the town of Burlington held in trust by the city of Boston for the Mary P. C. Cummings Testamentary Trust for highway purposes
- Status: signed
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2026-07-29
- Last action: 2026-08-06, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 173 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: House Committee on Ways and Means
- Cosponsors: 3
- Subjects: House Ways and Means
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (158 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Road fix easements and conservation land set-aside: mixed, low. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation can take small land interests for a road project in Woburn and Burlington. The land is held in trust by the city of Boston for the Mary P. C. Cummings Testamentary Trust. The taking covers 4,603 square feet for temporary work and 8,917 square feet as p…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: House Committee on Ways and Means
- Cosponsor: Kenneth I. Gordon (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Michelle L. Ciccolo (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Richard M. Haggerty (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-07-30 | House | Enacted | pass | 158 | 0 |   |

## Actions (17)

- 2026-08-06: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 173 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-07-30: Laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-07-30: Enacted -see Roll Call #227 (Yeas 39 to Nays 0) (Senate)
- 2026-07-30: Enacted - 158 YEAS to 0 NAYS (See YEA and NAY No. 250) (House)
- 2026-07-30: Emergency preamble adopted (Senate)
- 2026-07-30: Emergency preamble adopted (House)
- 2026-07-30: Read, rules suspended, read second, ordered to a third reading, read third and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-07-29: Passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-07-29: Amendment 1 adopted (House)
- 2026-07-29: Consolidated with S3229 (House)
- 2026-07-29: Bills in the Third Reading special report accepted (House)
- 2026-07-29: Read third (House)
- 2026-07-29: Rules suspended (House)
- 2026-07-29: Ordered to a third reading (House)
- 2026-07-29: New draft of H5541 (House)
- 2026-07-29: Pending new draft of H5541 (House)
- 2026-07-29: Reported from the committee on House Ways and Means (House)

## Bill text

- Chapter 173 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-08-06: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5616.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 173 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5616.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-H5616-194 (as of 2026-11-01).