# Massachusetts S 3237: An Act authorizing the town of Bourne to convey a right-of-way and easement Massachusetts S 3237, An Act authorizing the town of Bourne to convey a right-of-way and easement, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) Senate bill sponsored by Dylan A. Fernandes (Democratic); status signed, last action 2026-08-07 (Signed by the Governor, Chapter 182 of the Acts of 2026) (as of 2026-11-01). - Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-S3237-194 - 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 3237 - State: Massachusetts - Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026) - Title: An Act authorizing the town of Bourne to convey a right-of-way and easement - Status: signed - Chamber: Senate - Introduced: 2026-07-30 - Last action: 2026-08-07, Signed by the Governor, Chapter 182 of the Acts of 2026 - Sponsor: Dylan A. Fernandes (Democratic) - Cosponsors: 2 - Subjects: House Ways and Means, House Steering, Policy and Scheduling - Touches household money: no - Roll calls: 2 (174 yes, 0 no in all) - Economic provisions PRIA read: 3 ## Summary No summary available. ## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read - Independent review of pipeline land value: benefit, low. A qualified, independent appraiser sets the value of the easements and the 7-acre parcel. The Inspector General reviews and approves the appraisals before any deal. The Inspector General files a report with legislative committees. The state may use a recent appraisal if it meets standards. - Pipeline company pays conservation costs: benefit, low. Algonquin must pay at least the full fair market value or value in use for the easements. Any cash payments go to the state’s Biodiversity Fund for future land buys and public recreation. Algonquin also pays all engineering, survey, appraisal, and document costs set by the state. - Pipeline easement and replacement conservation land: mixed, low. The state can grant Algonquin a 50-foot-wide permanent easement on set parcels at Joint Base Cape Cod, about 5.272 acres, shown on plans dated August 1, 2025. It covers a natural gas pipeline, access roads, and temporary work areas. The Commissioner sets terms and consults the Fish and Game Commiss… ## Sponsors and cosponsors - Sponsor: Dylan A. Fernandes (Democratic), Senate - Cosponsor: David T. Vieira (Republican), House - Cosponsor: Steven George Xiarhos (Republican), House ## Roll call votes | Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 2026-07-31 | House | Enacted | pass | 151 | 0 | | | 2026-07-31 | committee | Committee Favorable with Amendment: S.3237 “An Act authorizing the town of Bourne to convey a right-of-way and easement” as amended | pass | 23 | 0 | | ## Actions (19) - 2026-08-07: Signed by the Governor, Chapter 182 of the Acts of 2026 - 2026-07-31: Laid before the Governor (Senate) - 2026-07-31: Enacted -see Roll Call #238 (Yeas 39 to Nays 0) (Senate) - 2026-07-31: Enacted - 151 YEAS to 0 NAYS (See YEA and NAY No. 270) (House) - 2026-07-31: Emergency preamble adopted (Senate) - 2026-07-31: Emergency preamble adopted (House) - 2026-07-31: Senate concurred in the House amendment (Senate) - 2026-07-31: Rules suspended (Senate) - 2026-07-31: Read third and passed to be engrossed (House) - 2026-07-31: Rules suspended (House) - 2026-07-31: Ordered to a third reading (House) - 2026-07-31: Read second, amended (as recommended by the committee on House Ways and Means) (House) - 2026-07-31: Rules suspended (House) - 2026-07-31: Committee reported that the matter be placed in the Orders of the Day for the next sitting with the amendment pending (House) - 2026-07-31: Committee recommended ought to pass with an amendment, striking out all after the enacting clause and inserting the text of H5638, and referred to the committee on House Steering, Policy and Scheduling (House) - 2026-07-30: Read; and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means (House) - 2026-07-30: Read third and passed to be engrossed (Senate) - 2026-07-30: Ordered to a third reading (Senate) - 2026-07-30: New draft (Fernandes) of S3144 (Senate) ## Bill text - Chapter 182 of the Acts of 2026, 2026-08-07: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S3237.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 182 of the Acts of 2026 (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S3237.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) - [Massachusetts bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/massachusetts/bills) - [Massachusetts state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/massachusetts) - [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills) Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-S3237-194 (as of 2026-11-01).