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H2586 • 2025

An Act enhancing the safety of high-rise buildings

An Act enhancing the safety of high-rise buildings

Active

The official status still shows this bill as active or still awaiting another formal step.

Sponsor
Marjorie C. Decker
Last action
2026-03-19
Official status
Accompanied a study order, see H5254 (under House Rule 27)
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

An Act enhancing the safety of high-rise buildings

An Act enhancing the safety of high-rise buildings By Representative Decker of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.

What This Bill Does

  • An Act enhancing the safety of high-rise buildings By Representative Decker of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No.
  • 2586) of Marjorie C.
  • Decker relative to automatic sprinklers in certain older high rise buildings.
  • Public Safety and Homeland Security.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-19 House

    Accompanied a study order, see H5254 (under House Rule 27)

  2. 2025-06-05 Joint

    Hearing scheduled for 06/11/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2

  3. 2025-02-27 House

    Referred to the committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security

  4. 2025-02-27 Senate

    Senate concurred

  5. House

    Reported by committee to Clerk’s Office for processing, will accompany a study order

Official Summary Text

An Act enhancing the safety of high-rise buildings
By Representative Decker of Cambridge, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 2586) of Marjorie C. Decker relative to automatic sprinklers in certain older high rise buildings. Public Safety and Homeland Security.

Current Bill Text

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Bill H.2586

SECTION 1. Section 26A ½ of Chapter 148 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2022 Official Edition, is hereby amended in the first paragraph by striking out the following words: “provided, further, that sprinklers shall not be required to be installed in buildings where construction has commenced prior to January first, nineteen hundred and seventy-five and which have been submitted to the provisions of chapter one hundred and eighty-three A;” and inserting in place thereof the following words:-

any building where construction has commenced prior to January 1, 1975 and which have been submitted to the provisions of chapter 183A shall comply with the following schedule for the installation of automatic sprinklers: one-third of the gross square footage of the building or structure shall be equipped with automatic sprinklers by March 30, 2028; two-thirds of the gross square footage of the building or structure shall be equipped with automatic sprinklers by March 30, 2031; and the entire gross square footage of the building or structure shall be equipped with automatic sprinklers by March 30, 2035; provided, however, that the owner of said building or structure may apply to the board of appeals of the fire safety commission for an extension or a waiver of the provisions of this section as provided for in section 201 of chapter 6. Any building or structure subject to the provisions of this section shall have the option of complying with the following schedule: the entire gross square footage of the building or structure shall be equipped with automatic sprinklers by March 30, 2031; provided, however, that under said option the owner of said building or structure shall be deemed to have waived his right to any such extension of time.

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