In late December, two home rule petitions from the town of Acton were signed into law by Governor Maura Healey.
Changes to residency requirements home rule petition
Rep. Danillo Sena, Rep. Simon Cataldo, and Senator Jamie Eldridge announced that H4168, An Act authorizing the town of Acton to increase the residency limit for members of its police and fire departments was signed into law by Governor Maura Healey on December 4, 2025. The Home Rule petition was filed on behalf of the Town of Acton to allow for hiring public safety officials from a greater radius, subject to collective bargaining. This strengthens the recruiting of police and fire officials, ensuring that qualified candidates can be hired from a wider base of communities. The matter passed at Acton’s May 2025 Town Meeting as article 35 on the consent calendar.
Acton Fire Chief Anita Arnum said, “Passage of this home rule petition expands the fire department’s hiring pool, allowing us to recruit much-needed firefighter/paramedics. We are grateful for the work of our state representatives, town staff, and their teams in bringing this effort to fruition.”
Acton Police Chief Jim Cogan said, “On behalf of the men and women of the Acton Police Department, I extend my sincere appreciation to all those who worked collaboratively to get this passed. We are all very grateful for the support we received from our legislators.”
Acton Libraries home rule petition
Acton’s home rule petition H.4173 An Act amending the special legislation establishing the Acton Memorial Library was also passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Healey on December 22. This petition changes the number of Acton Library Trustees from nine to twelve and specifies that three others shall be elected as trustees of the West Acton Citizens’ Library. This change means that the trustees of the Acton Memorial Library and West Acton Citizens’ Library now meet as a single board. However, Citizens’ Library trustees continue to be elected at Town Meeting and vote separately on certain motions that pertain solely to that library. This home rule petition was locally approved by Acton voters after considerable discussion during 2025 Annual Town Meeting.
Pending home rule petitions
Three other home rule petitions submitted by Acton to the 194th legislative session are still pending. These address voting rights for 16- and 17-year olds in municipal elections (H.870), ranked choice voting (H.869), and establishing a minimum charge for a checkout bag (H.4167). The 194th legislative session continues into 2026.
What is a home rule petition?
So what, you might ask, is a home rule petition? As explained by the websites of the Massachusetts Division of Local Services and a Somerville-based non-profit, Amendment 89 of the Massachusetts Constitution, passed 60 years ago, “grants and confirms to the people of every city and town the right of self-government in local matters.”
However, this right has important exceptions. Cities and towns must seek the State’s permission to, among others, issue liquor licenses; reorganize government; reserve their money in special revenue funds; convey or lease certain property; regulate elections; levy, assess and collect taxes; borrow money or pledge a municipality’s credit; and dispose of parkland.
A home rule petition is a formal request from a town for a new type of power from the state legislature. If a proposed home rule petition is passed locally, the city government sends the bill to its state representatives and state senators, who seek to pass it in the legislature as a state law that would only affect the one municipality.
