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S 2120

Relates to the service life requirement for painting, striping and other new infrastructure dedicated primarily for pedestrian or cyclist use

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Pat Fahy

Updates Massachusetts statutes to replace “hearing-impaired” with modern terms like “deaf or hard of hearing” or “hard of hearing.”

REFERRED TO TRANSPORTATION
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Bill Summary · S 2120

Summary — S.2120 (2025): “An Act relative to removing the term hearing impaired from the general laws”

Note: Although a different short title appears in the provided metadata, the text of S.2120 (Senate Docket No. 755) presented by Senator Cynthia Stone Creem amends Massachusetts General Laws to replace the phrase “hearing‑impaired” (or “hearing impaired”) with modern alternatives (“deaf or hard of hearing” or “hard of hearing”) in several statutory provisions.

Main purpose

To modernize and clarify statutory terminology by removing the dated phrase “hearing‑impaired” from multiple places in the General Laws and replacing it with contemporary, specific terms — generally “deaf or hard of hearing” or “hard of hearing.” The changes are primarily editorial and intended to align legal language with preferred, more precise terms.

Key provisions (by section)

The bill amends the 2022 Official Edition of the General Laws as follows:

  • Section 1 — Chapter 6, §196: replace “hearing‑impaired” with “deaf or hard of hearing.”
  • Section 2 — Chapter 32A, §23: replace “hearing impaired” with “deaf or hard of hearing.”
  • Section 3 — Chapter 129, §1: replace “hearing‑impaired” with “hard of hearing.”
  • Section 4 — Chapter 151B, §4 (paragraphs 6, 7 and 7A): replace “hearing impaired” with “deaf or hard of hearing.”
  • Section 5 — Chapter 175, §47X: replace “hearing‑impaired” with “deaf or hard of hearing.”
  • Section 6 — Chapter 176A, §8Y: replace “hearing impaired” with “deaf or hard of hearing.”
  • Section 7 — Chapter 176B, §4EE: replace “hearing impaired” with “deaf or hard of hearing.”
  • Section 8 — Chapter 176G, §4N: replace “hearing impaired” with “deaf or hard of hearing.”
  • Section 9 — Chapter 221, §92A: replace each occurrence of “hearing‑impaired” with “hard of hearing.”

Who or what is affected

  • Primary effect: statutory text in the listed chapters and sections of the Massachusetts General Laws.
  • Practical effect: agencies, courts, employers, insurers, and other entities that rely on those statutory terms will need to use the updated terminology in regulations, forms, guidance, and internal documents.
  • Individuals: the substantive rights, obligations, or benefits of people who are deaf or hard of hearing are not changed by the text of this bill; it is a terminology update rather than a substantive policy change.

Impact and implementation

  • Substantive impact: minimal. The bill appears to be non‑substantive and editorial, updating language to reflect modern, person‑centered or identity‑specific terms.
  • Administrative impact: low to modest one‑time costs for updating statutes, regulations, agency forms, websites, training materials, and internal records.
  • Legal interpretation: because wording sometimes differs (e.g., “hard of hearing” vs. “deaf or hard of hearing”), there is a small potential for questions about whether any narrow definitions apply. Absent other changes, courts and agencies are likely to interpret these as synonymous with prior usage.

Procedural/timeline notes

  • Filed/Presented: Senate Docket No. 755 filed 1/14/2025; presented by Senator Cynthia Stone Creem.
  • Legislative actions provided (multiple entries in the record): introduced/read and referred to committees; references include referral to the committee on State Administration and Regulatory Oversight (02/27/2025) and other committee referral notations. Several hearing dates were scheduled or rescheduled for fall 2025.
  • Status: Referred to committee (see record notes above). No enactment date recorded in the provided materials.

Observations

  • The bill updates terminology in a targeted set of statutes. It does not add or remove benefits, eligibility criteria, or procedural rights for persons with hearing loss.
  • Because the bill uses slightly different replacement phrases in different sections, implementing agencies may wish to ensure consistency in related regulations and guidance to avoid ambiguity.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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