LANSING, Mich. (AP) - Michigan lawmakers are looking to remove the terms "mental retardation" and "mentally retarded" from state law. The legislation in Lansing incorporates some recent recommendations from a mental health commission appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder.
The bipartisan bills would strike references to outdated language such as "retarded" from various statutes and instead use terms such as "developmentally disabled" or "intellectually disabled." A Senate panel last week approved bills to delete the "R word" from laws. They're now pending in the full Senate. A House committee is expected to pass similar bills later today.
Special Olympics Michigan has said Michigan is among just a handful of states to not have already passed such legislation.