# Massachusetts H 5640: An Act authorizing the town of Hingham to grant to the commonwealth of Massachusetts certain parcels of land in the town of Hingham for highway purposes Massachusetts H 5640, An Act authorizing the town of Hingham to grant to the commonwealth of Massachusetts certain parcels of land in the town of Hingham for highway purposes, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by House Committee on Ways and Means; status signed, last action 2026-08-07 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 185 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5640-194 - 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 5640 - State: Massachusetts - Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026) - Title: An Act authorizing the town of Hingham to grant to the commonwealth of Massachusetts certain parcels of land in the town of Hingham for highway purposes - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2026-07-31 - Last action: 2026-08-07, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 185 of the Acts of 2026 - Sponsor: House Committee on Ways and Means - Cosponsors: 2 - Subjects: House Ways and Means - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 1 (152 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 2 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Conservation set aside and payment to Hingham: benefit, low. As mitigation, Hingham must place about 8 acres of 0 Hobart Street (Assessor’s Map 106, Lot 3) under its conservation commission. The area is the portion shown on the plan dated May 13, 2026 on file with the town clerk, and is protected under Article 97 and state law. MassDOT must pay the town at l… - Hingham land transfer for Route 3A work: benefit, low. The law lets Hingham transfer specific town parcels to MassDOT for highway use. The parcels are the ones shown on the Route 3A / Summer Street / Rockland Street preliminary right‑of‑way plans dated July 1, 2026, on file with MassDOT. Parcels may include land now held for park, conservation, or recr… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: House Committee on Ways and Means - Cosponsor: Joan Meschino (Democratic), House - Cosponsor: Patrick M. O'Connor (Republican), Senate ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-07-31 | House | Enacted | pass | 152 | 0 | | ## Actions (11) - 2026-08-07: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 185 of the Acts of 2026 - 2026-07-31: Laid before the Governor (Senate) - 2026-07-31: Enacted -see Roll Call #232 (Yeas 39 to Nays 0) (Senate) - 2026-07-31: Enacted - 152 YEAS to 0 NAYS (See YEA and NAY No. 264) (House) - 2026-07-31: Read, rules suspended, read second, ordered to a third reading, read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate) - 2026-07-31: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House) - 2026-07-31: Rules suspended (House) - 2026-07-31: Ordered to a third reading (House) - 2026-07-31: New draft of H5504 (House) - 2026-07-31: Pending new draft of H5504 (House) - 2026-07-31: Reported from the committee on House Ways and Means (House) ## Bill text - Chapter 185 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-08-07: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5640.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 185 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H5640.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) - [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-H5640-194 (as of 2026-11-01).