# Massachusetts H 862: An Act regarding the recall of elected officers of the town of Sharon Massachusetts H 862, An Act regarding the recall of elected officers of the town of Sharon, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by Edward R. Philips (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-02-13 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 23 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H862-194 - 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 862 - State: Massachusetts - Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026) - Title: An Act regarding the recall of elected officers of the town of Sharon - Status: signed - Chamber: House - Introduced: 2025-02-27 - Last action: 2026-02-13, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 23 of the Acts of 2026 - Sponsor: Edward R. Philips (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 0 - Subjects: Election Laws, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling - Touches household money: no - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - How a Sharon recall election works: mixed, low. The recall ballot first asks “For the recall of [name]” and “Against the recall of [name],” then lists candidates alphabetically. If a majority votes for recall, candidate votes decide the successor; if a majority votes against, candidate votes are not counted. The officer stays in office until the… - How to start a Sharon recall: mixed, low. A recall starts with an affidavit signed by at least 50 registered Sharon voters, with street addresses, naming the officer and grounds, under penalty of perjury. The town clerk has 7 business days to verify signatures and grounds. If valid, within 2 business days the clerk issues signed and sealed… - When Sharon voters can recall officials: mixed, low. The law lets Sharon voters recall any elected town officer. A recall must claim specific grounds: a felony or other serious crime; not taking the oath within 30 days; missing required state ethics training within 30 days; an intentional ethics or oath violation; or poor attendance that hurts a boar… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Edward R. Philips (Democratic), House ## Actions (15) - 2026-02-13: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 23 of the Acts of 2026 - 2026-02-05: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate) - 2026-02-05: Enacted (House) - 2026-02-02: Read third (title changed) and passed to be engrossed (Senate) - 2026-02-02: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate) - 2026-01-29: Read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate) - 2025-12-11: Read; and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate) - 2025-12-08: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House) - 2025-08-04: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House) - 2025-08-04: Rules suspended (House) - 2025-08-04: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House) - 2025-07-30: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House) - 2025-04-28: Hearing scheduled for 05/06/2025 from 01:00 PM-04:00 PM in B-1 (legislature) - 2025-02-27: Senate concurred (Senate) - 2025-02-27: Referred to the committee on Election Laws (House) ## Bill text - Chapter 23 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-02-13: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H862.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 3909: An Act authorizing the Provincetown year-round market rate rental housing trust to acquire year-round housing occupancy restrictions (signed) ## Sources - [Chapter 23 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H862.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 3909: An Act authorizing the Provincetown year-round market rate rental housing trust…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H3909-194) - [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-H862-194 (as of 2026-11-01).