Massachusetts Legislature Passes 61-Page Bill Rewriting 346 Laws on Disability Language
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Jun 9
Massachusetts Legislature Passes 61-Page Bill Rewriting 346 Laws on Disability Language
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 9
Summary
Unanimous recorded votes in both chambers sent a 61-page Massachusetts bill to Gov. Maura Healey after lawmakers approved updates to 346 sections of state law.
The measure replaces terms including "handicapped," "disabled" and "retarded" with person-first wording such as "person with a disability" and "person with an intellectual or developmental disability."
Specific revisions also swap "hearing-impaired" for "deaf or hard of hearing" and amend legal definitions like "caretaker" to refer to "a person with a disability."
Democratic sponsors said the overhaul was driven by disability-rights activism and the view that outdated legal language can cause real harm even when embedded in old statutes.
The vote extends a broader state push after a 2024 law renamed the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission to MassAbility as officials moved to modernize disability services and terminology.