Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 4, § 1 (2026)

Effective date of statutes

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 1. A statute enacted by the general court which may be made the subject of a referendum petition and which is declared therein to be an emergency law, unless otherwise expressly provided therein, shall take effect as soon as it has the force of a law conformably to the constitution. A statute so enacted which may not be made the subject of such a petition and for which a different time of taking effect is not therein expressly provided shall take effect as soon as it has the force of a law as aforesaid if it is declared therein to be an emergency law, otherwise on the thirtieth day next after the earliest day on which it has the force of a law as aforesaid; provided, that a statute so enacted which may not be made the subject of such a petition and which is to take effect upon its acceptance by a municipal or other corporation or by any board or officer thereof, unless otherwise expressly provided therein, shall, for the purpose of such acceptance only, take effect as soon as it has the force of a law as aforesaid.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 27 cases, 1926–2015 · leading case: McCarthy v. Sheriff of Suffolk Cnty., 322 N.E.2d 758 (Mass. 1975).

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McCarthy v. Sheriff of Suffolk Cnty., 322 N.E.2d 758 (Mass. 1975). · cites it 2× “See G.L.c. 4, § 1; art. 48, The Initiative, II, § 2, of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution.”

Casasanta v. Zoning Bd. of Appeals of Milford, 384 N.E.2d 1218 (Mass. 1979). “191, 198-199 (1938); G. L. c. 4, § 1. The case of Sears v. Secretary of the Commonwealth, 369 Mass.”

Commonwealth v. Sacco, 151 N.E. 839 (Mass. 1926). “It was approved June 6, 1922, and not being subject to a referendum which, among other things, excludes all legislation relating to the powers of courts, the statute was in effect on June 6, 1922.”

Custody of a Minor, 468 N.E.2d 251 (Mass. 1984). “48 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, The Referendum, I and III, § 2; G. L. c. 4, § 1), before the hearing and decision of the trial judge on the question of jurisdiction.”

Custody of a Minor (No. 1), 463 N.E.2d 324 (Mass. 1984). “However, the new statute comes within an exception to this general rule. As a law which “relates to .”

Am. Mut. Liab. Ins. v. Commonwealth, 398 N.E.2d 491 (Mass. 1979). “48 of the Amendments to the Constitution of the Commonwealth, The Referendum I; G. L. c. 4, § 1. In pertinent part, § 65, as appearing in St.”

Cranberry Realty & Mortg. Co. v. Ackerley Commc'ns, Inc., 457 N.E.2d 674 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983). “48 of the Amendments to the Massachusetts Constitution, The Referendum, III, § 2; G. L. c. 4, § 1), restored the exclusionary sentence in G.”

Kagan v. United Vacuum Appliance Corp., 260 N.E.2d 208 (Mass. 1970). “A law not subject to a referendum falls within G. L. c. 4, § 1, and is effective on the thirtieth day after enactment.”

Smith v. Freedman, 167 N.E. 335 (Mass. 1929). “As the statute is one relating to the conduct of trials and not to substantive rights, it is of no consequence whether it takes effect upon its passage, or in accordance with G. L. c. 4, § 1, or with art. 48 of the Amendments to the Constitution, the Referendum, Parts I, II,…”

Commonwealth v. Yee, 281 N.E.2d 248 (Mass. 1972). “1071, is a law “which may be made the subject of a referendum petition” (G. L. c. 4, § 1), the effective date of § 2 would have been February 9, 1972.”

Halko v. Bd. of Appeals of Billerica, 209 N.E.2d 323 (Mass. 1965). “See G. L. c. 4, § 1; art. 48 of the Amendments to the Constitution, The Referendum, I, III, § 2; Commonwealth v.”

Rosenthal v. Liss, 269 Mass. 373 (Mass. 1929). “Plainly the act had not then taken effect so as to govern the rights of the parties to this action, because ninety days had not then elapsed after it had become a law.”

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