# Massachusetts S 2897: An Act authorizing the town of Berkley to increase the membership of the board of selectmen

Massachusetts S 2897, An Act authorizing the town of Berkley to increase the membership of the board of selectmen, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) Senate bill sponsored by Kelly A. Dooner (Republican), Norman J. Orrall (Republican); status signed, last action 2026-07-07 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 124 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-S2897-194
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Massachusetts S 2897
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act authorizing the town of Berkley to increase the membership of the board of selectmen
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-01-07
- Last action: 2026-07-07, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 124 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsors: Kelly A. Dooner (Republican), Norman J. Orrall (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 0
- Subjects: Municipalities and Regional Government, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (5 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Berkley board expands to five members: benefit, low. The law sets Berkley’s board of selectmen at five members. Each selectman serves a three-year term. The law takes effect upon passage. At the first annual town election held at least 64 days later, voters elect two additional members plus the one already on the ballot. The two new seats are separat…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Kelly A. Dooner (Republican), Senate
- Sponsor: Norman J. Orrall (Republican), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-06 | committee | Committee Favorable: Ought to pass | pass | 5 | 0 |   |

## Actions (17)

- 2026-07-07: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 124 of the Acts of 2026
- 2026-06-29: Enacted and laid before the Governor (Senate)
- 2026-06-29: Enacted (House)
- 2026-06-25: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House)
- 2026-06-08: Read second and ordered to a third reading (House)
- 2026-06-08: Rules suspended (House)
- 2026-06-08: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting (House)
- 2026-05-14: Read; and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House)
- 2026-05-11: Read third and passed to be engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-05-11: Taken out of the Orders of the Day (Senate)
- 2026-04-01: Read second and ordered to a third reading (Senate)
- 2026-03-09: Bill reported favorably by committee and placed in the Orders of the Day for the next session (Senate)
- 2026-03-03: Hearing rescheduled to 03/03/2026 from 01:00 PM-01:30 PM in 222 and Virtual<br> <span style="color: blue; font-style: italic;">Hearing updated to New End Time</span> (legislature)
- 2026-02-26: Reporting date extended to Tuesday March 31, 2026 (Senate)
- 2026-02-12: Hearing scheduled for 03/03/2026 from 01:00 PM-03:00 PM in 222 (legislature)
- 2026-01-08: House concurred (House)
- 2026-01-07: Referred to the committee on Municipalities and Regional Government (Senate)

## Bill text

- Chapter 124 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-07-07: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S2897.pdf)

## Related bills

- H 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax abatements (signed)
- H 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police chief Neal Hovey (passed senate)
- 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 4755: An Act amending the means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in the town of Sudbury (signed)
- H 3909: An Act authorizing the Provincetown year-round market rate rental housing trust to acquire year-round housing occupancy restrictions (signed)
- H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the position of firefighter in the town of Dudley (signed)

## Sources
- [Chapter 124 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S2897.pdf)

## Related
- [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 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police ch…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5435-194)
- [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 4755: An Act amending the means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in the t…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4755-194)
- [H 3909: An Act authorizing the Provincetown year-round market rate rental housing trust…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H3909-194)
- [H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the p…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5520-194)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-S2897-194 (as of 2026-11-01).