Massachusetts Senate Engrosses Randolph Haitian Creole Ballot Bill, Advances Literacy Measure

BOSTON -- January 22, 2026, Massachusetts Senate engrosses Randolph Haitian Creole ballot bill and advances teacher literacy overhaul. The chamber passed Senate No. 509 by voice vote Thursday, allowing the Town of Randolph to prepare bilingual ballots in English and Haitian Creole without waiting for the federal government's standard five-year census review, a home rule petition the sponsoring senator from Norfolk, Bristol, and Plymouth called urgently necessary given voter turnout in Randolph falling to just over 10 percent in 2023. The senator linked the legislation directly to federal immigration enforcement, noting that Haitian nationals had been removed from naturalization ceremonies at Boston's Faneuil Hall under a federal travel restriction. The Senate also set a January 29 floor date for House No. 4683, a teacher preparation and student literacy bill reported out of Ways and Means by Senator Michael J. Rodrigues with a full text substitution drawn from Senate document No. 2924. Three additional home rule bills, covering Provincetown's charter, an appointed town clerk in Avon, and Westwood alcohol licenses, were passed to enactment and sent to the Governor.