# Massachusetts S 3181: An Act providing equal opportunity for residents to vote on establishment of the Great River Regional School District

Massachusetts S 3181, An Act providing equal opportunity for residents to vote on establishment of the Great River Regional School District, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) Senate bill sponsored by Joanne M. Comerford (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-08-25 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 193 of the Acts of 2026); PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-S3181-194
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Massachusetts S 3181
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act providing equal opportunity for residents to vote on establishment of the Great River Regional School District
- Status: signed
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2026-07-16
- Last action: 2026-08-25, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 193 of the Acts of 2026
- Sponsor: Joanne M. Comerford (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 1
- Subjects: House Steering, Policy and Scheduling
- Touches household money: yes
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Six towns decide Great River district: mixed, low. The law requires Bernardston, Gill, Leyden, Northfield, Warwick, and Montague to put a binding question on the next annual or special town election ballot after passage. Voters decide whether to create the Great River Regional School District. If a majority in each of the six towns votes yes, the d…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Joanne M. Comerford (Democratic), Senate
- Cosponsor: Susannah M. Whipps (Independent), House

## Bill text

- Chapter 193 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-08-25: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S3181.pdf)

## Related bills

- H 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police chief Neal Hovey (passed senate)
- H 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax abatements (signed)
- H 5515: An Act to increase the value of estates eligible for abatements pursuant to M.G.L. chapter 59, section 5, clauses seventeenth D and forty-first C in the town o… (passed house)
- H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the position of firefighter in the town of Dudley (signed)
- H 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nicholas Spinale (second reading)
- H 4755: An Act amending the means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in the town of Sudbury (signed)

## Sources
- [Chapter 193 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S3181.pdf)

## Related
- [H 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police ch…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5435-194)
- [H 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax aba…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4585-194)
- [H 5515: An Act to increase the value of estates eligible for abatements pursuant to M.G…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5515-194)
- [H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the p…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5520-194)
- [H 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nichola…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5429-194)
- [H 4755: An Act amending the means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in the t…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4755-194)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-S3181-194 (as of 2026-11-01).