California Bill Would End Use Of 'Mentally Retarded'

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Lawmakers want California to join the federal government and 42 other states in ending use of the term "mentally retarded."

The state Senate on Thursday unanimously passed a bill to drop the term from legal references and refer instead to "intellectual disability." The bill now moves to the Assembly.

Democratic Sen. Fran Pavley of Agoura Hills says SB1381 seeks to end the use of an offensive and outdated term in education and social services.

The bill is sponsored by The Arc of California, a group that advocates for disability rights, and is supported by United Cerebral Palsy in California.

Pavley says the bill is not expected to cost the state more money because the changes will be made during routine revisions to laws over the next several years.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.