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JOHN HANCOCK CALIFORNIA TAX-FREE INCOME FUND
CLASS A AND CLASS B SHARES
SUPPLEMENT TO PROSPECTUS DATED MAY 1, 1995
Investment Objective and Policies
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The Fund's investment policies have been revised to allow investments
in unrated bonds comparable to BBB, and up to 20% of total assets to be
invested in bonds rated BB/Ba or equivalent. The paragraphs under this
section numbered (1) and (5) are deleted in their entirety and replaced by:
The Fund pursues its objective by investing in:
(1) Bonds which, at the time of purchase, are rated within one of
the five highest ratings by Standard and Poor's Ratings Group ("S&P")
(AAA, AA, A, BBB or BB), Moody's Investor Services ("Moody's")
(AAA, AA, A, Baa or Ba), or Fitch Investor Services ("Fitch") (AAA,
AA, A BBB or BB).
(5) Unrated bonds, notes and commercial paper that in the opinion of
John Hancock Advisers, Inc. ("the Adviser") are, at the time of
purchase, comparable in quality to the rated obligations of the same
types described above. The Fund may not purchase an unrated obligation
which would cause more than 25% of its total assets to be invested in
unrated debt obligations. Not more than 20% of the Fund's total assets
will be invested in bonds rated lower than BBB or, if unrated, determined
to be of comparable quality, in the opinion of the Adviser.
July 3, 1995
The "ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF THE FUND" section is amended as follows:
Dianne Sales-Singer is the Fund's portfolio manager and is responsible
for the day-to-day management of the Fund. Ms. Sales-singer has been with
the Adviser since 1989. Prior to joining the Adviser, she was employed at
Bear Stearns & Co., Inc.
January 15, 1996
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The "Qualifying for a Reduced Sales Charge" section under SHARE PRICE is
supplemented as follows:
Effective March 1, 1996, members of an approved affinity group
financial service plan, may purchase Class A shares of the Fund without
paying a sales charge. *
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*For investments made under these provisions, John Hancock Funds, Inc. may
make a payment out of its own resources to the Selling Broker in an amount
not to exceed 0.25% of the amount invested.
