SEPTEMBER 5, 2024

Today the Massachusetts Legislature passed H.4528, An Act to rename the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission, MassAbility, to reflect the self-determination and limitless possibilities of people with disabilities, legislation to rename the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) to MassAbility, a change that will define the agency’s role in supporting residents with disabilities live independently. The name change reflects the intention to empower individuals living with disabilities and move away from outdated terminology as the office undergoes broad changes towards a more expansive model for disability employment services and independent living. The legislation also removes offensive terminology in the Massachusetts General Laws referring to people with disabilities in sections of the law that pertain to MassAbility.

"Words matter, and this bill ensures we are using the right words in service of our constituents with intellectual disabilities," Representative Connolly said. "It's important that our constituents feel seen and are embraced for who they are in our laws, and this simple bill takes a meaningful step forward to do so."

This bill removes out-of-date and offensive language from the Massachusetts General Laws when referencing people with disabilities. The language in the bill removes all variations of outdated terms such as “handicapped,” “disabled,” and “retarded.” The bill replaces these terms with current terminology such as “person with a disability” and “person with an intellectual disability.” Additionally, the term “autistic” is replaced with “autism” in reference to Autism Awareness Month. Additionally, the package renames the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission to MassAbility and updates the outdated terms included in its enabling statute.  

The Joint Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities heard from many advocacy organizations in the disability community in support of the bill and all changes were vetted with relevant agencies, including Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Executive Office of Education, and the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination.

Having passed both chambers of the Legislature, the measure will now be sent to the Governor’s desk for her signature.