Massachusetts lawmakers pass bill to scrap 'offensive language' from state's General Laws
A bill to remove language considered outdated or offensive toward people with disabilities from Massachusetts state statutes has cleared both chambers of the Legislature and is now headed to the desk of Gov. Maura Healey for her signature.
The legislation, sponsored by Democratic state Sen. Pat Jehlen and backed by 17 co-petitioners, touches 346 sections of Massachusetts General Laws across 61 pages. It swaps phrases that disability advocates have long criticized for language they say better reflects the dignity of the people the laws are meant to serve.
Among the changes: "disabled person" becomes "person with a disability," "handicapped" becomes "disability," and "retarded" is replaced with phrases such as "person with an intellectual or developmental disability." The bill also eliminates "crippled" and "deformed" when used to describe individuals, and revises "hearing-impaired" to "deaf or hard of hearing." The term "chronically ill" is updated to "persons who are chronically ill." Even legal definitions tied to those terms are rewritten — the description of a "caretaker" for a "disabled person," for example, now refers to a caretaker for "a person with a disability."
In a statement, Jehlen said the work took longer than expected because lawmakers kept uncovering additional instances of language that advocates flagged as harmful.
"Language is constantly changing," Jehlen said. "And it's changing because of the activism of people who were ignored and demeaned for too long. When people tell us they feel insulted and offended by the use of outdated words, we worked to change the legal language. It took a long time, because we kept finding more examples of offensive language. Language and activism will continue to evolve, and there'll always be more work to do, but this is a gigantic step forward in respect."
Senate President Karen Spilka credited advocates including former Senate staff member Melissa Reilly for pushing the Legislature to act, along with Sens. Jehlen and Kennedy.
"When dusty and dangerous relics of a bygone era darken our laws, it creates the potential for real harm to residents today," Spilka said in a statement. "Thanks to the voices of advocates like former Senate staff member Melissa Reilly and the leadership of Senator Jehlen and Senator Kennedy, the Legislature has acted to make our laws better represent who we are in 21st-century Massachusetts."
She framed the bill as a response to the political moment in Washington.
"With a White House that glorifies, and seemingly longs for, the days when many Americans were discriminated against because of who they are, now is the time to make sure our state laws respect and support the rights and dignity of our residents," Spilka added.
House Speaker Ronald J. Mariano, also a Democrat, said the measure is part of an ongoing effort to scrub statute books of words that carry baggage.
"As lawmakers, we know that words matter," Mariano said. "This legislation is our latest effort to ensure that our state laws do not use antiquated words that carry negative connotations, words that also serve as a reminder of past injustices."
The bill passed with unanimous recorded votes in both the House and Senate. It arrives at the governor's desk after a 2024 law that renamed the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission to MassAbility, a change state officials described at the time as part of a broader push to modernize disability services and the language surrounding them.
A spokesperson for the Massachusetts Republican Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Healey, a Democrat, has not publicly indicated whether she will sign the bill.