House passes Boston police age-waiver bill, Lexington housing measure in brief session

BOSTON — May 11, 2026 — The Massachusetts House passed a clutch of local bills in a brief informal session Monday, including a measure directing the Boston Police Department to waive its maximum age requirement for applicant Luisa Fernandez. House Bill 4604 cleared the chamber as amended after Representative Thomas P. Walsh of Peabody added language specifying the act takes effect upon passage; the bill now advances to the Senate. The House also passed to be enacted House Bill 4842, clarifying the statutory organization of the Lexington Housing Assistance Board, and engrossed House Bill 3645, designating a stretch of Route 7A in Lenox as the Ross B. Dindio Memorial Highway. Two additional bills — Senate Bill 3004, allowing print-free digital legal notices in Newton, and House Bill 5162, designating part of Route 20 as the Broder Curve — were ordered to third reading. Speaker Ronald Mariano adjourned the session to Thursday, May 14, at 11 a.m.