Order relative to extending until Friday, July 31, 2026 the time within which the committee on Health Care Financing is authorized to report on current House documents

194th Legislature (2025-2026) Introduced by Meg Kilcoyne

Extends the Health Care Financing Committee’s deadline to finalize its report on a long list of documents to July 31, 2026, delaying the reporting timeline.

Adopted

Summary of Bill H.5505 (194th General Court, Massachusetts)

Purpose and intent

This joint order extends the time within which the Committee on Health Care Financing is authorized to file its final report on a large list of House documents. Specifically, the committee is granted an extension until Friday, July 31, 2026.

The extension applies notwithstanding House Rule 27, effectively delaying the deadline for the committee to report on the referenced documents.

Key provisions

The bill is an order, not substantive legislation, that temporarily alters procedural timing.

It directs that the Health Care Financing Committee have until July 31, 2026 to make its final report on a long list of current House documents (numbers provided in the text). The documents span a wide range of potential health care, budget, policy, and related issues that may be under consideration by the House.

No changes to policy text, funding, or statutory language are enacted by this order itself; it merely extends the reporting deadline for the committee’s final report on those documents.

The list of documents includes scores of numbered House documents (e.g., 85, 176, 253, 276, 277, 327, 545, 758, 779, 785, 791, 1082, 1126, 1167, 1168, 1222, 1324, 1334, 1351, 1354, 1360, 1363, 1365, 1373, 1378, 1381, 1383, 1387, 1388, 1390, 1391, 1394, 1400, 1401, 1404, 1405, 1406, 1407, 1409, 1411, 1412, 1413, 1414, 1415, 1418, 1420, 2363, 2364, 2366, 2371, 2380, 2381, 2389, 2396, 2408, 2414, 2417, 2426, 2437, 2440, 2441, 2451, 2463, 2473, 2490, 2498, 2501, 2505, 2529, 2531, 2537, 2551, 2604, 2658, 2705, 2801, 2918, 3987, 3410, 4332, 4333, 4334, 4335, 4338, 4340, 4341, 4342, 4346, 4353, 4425, 4432, 4453, 4488, 4489, 4490, 4492, 4493, 4494, 4495, 4496, 4497, 4548, 4552, 4608, 4609, 4616, 4617, 4618, 4619, 4623, 4666, 4668, 4730, 4770). The extension applies to the committee’s ability to finalize its report on those documents.

Who/what is affected

The primary affected entity is the Massachusetts House Committee on Health Care Financing, which receives additional time to complete its reporting obligations.

Legislative stakeholders relying on timely committee reports (e.g., members, staff, bill sponsors, and the public) are indirectly affected by the delayed deadline for the final report on the listed documents.

Procedural and timeline aspects

The order explicitly overrides a standard procedural deadline (House Rule 27) to grant an extension.

New deadline for final reporting: Friday, July 31, 2026.

The action was referred to the Committee on House Rules, reported favorably, and then adopted after suspending rules, indicating a swift procedural path to enactment.

The sponsor listed is Meg Kilcoyne (co-sponsor), indicating political support within the House for extending the deadline.

Practical effect

If the House or its committees plan to rely on the Health Care Financing Committee’s final report for policy decisions, financing plans, or further legislation on the listed matters, they will have until July 31, 2026 to do so.

The extension does not change any policy provisions or funding levels themselves; it delays the point at which the committee’s final report on the specified documents would be delivered.