# Massachusetts H 2227: An Act replacing archaic and stigmatizing language for substance use

Massachusetts H 2227, An Act replacing archaic and stigmatizing language for substance use, is a 194th General Court (2025-2026) House bill sponsored by James J. O'Day (Democratic); status in committee, last action 2026-03-12 (Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H2227-194
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Massachusetts H 2227
- State: Massachusetts
- Session: 194th General Court (2025-2026)
- Title: An Act replacing archaic and stigmatizing language for substance use
- Status: in committee
- Chamber: House
- Introduced: 2025-02-27
- Last action: 2026-03-12, Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means
- Sponsor: James J. O'Day (Democratic)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Subjects: Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, House Ways and Means
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 1 (12 yes, 0 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 0

## Summary

No summary available.

## Bill overview

No economic impacts identified for this bill.

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: James J. O'Day (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Christopher Hendricks (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Marjorie C. Decker (Democratic), House
- Cosponsor: Tara T. Hong (Democratic), House

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-03-06 | committee | Committee Favorable: Shall the bill be reported favorably? | pass | 12 | 0 |   |

## Actions (5)

- 2026-03-12: Bill reported favorably by committee and referred to the committee on House Ways and Means (House)
- 2026-01-12: Reporting date extended to Wednesday, March 18, 2026 (House)
- 2025-10-03: Hearing scheduled for 10/14/2025 from 01:00 PM-05:00 PM in A-2 (legislature)
- 2025-02-27: Senate concurred (Senate)
- 2025-02-27: Referred to the committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery (House)

## Bill text

- As Filed: [PDF](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H2227.pdf)

## Related bills

- H 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police chief Neal Hovey (passed senate)
- H 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax abatements (signed)
- H 5515: An Act to increase the value of estates eligible for abatements pursuant to M.G.L. chapter 59, section 5, clauses seventeenth D and forty-first C in the town o… (passed house)
- H 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nicholas Spinale (second reading)
- H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the position of firefighter in the town of Dudley (signed)
- H 4755: An Act amending the means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in the town of Sudbury (signed)

## Sources
- [As Filed (PDF)](https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H2227.pdf)

## Related
- [H 5435: An Act authorizing the town of Topsfield to continue to employment of police ch…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5435-194)
- [H 4585: An Act authorizing the town of Auburn to offer expanded senior property tax aba…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4585-194)
- [H 5515: An Act to increase the value of estates eligible for abatements pursuant to M.G…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5515-194)
- [H 5429: An Act providing injured on duty compensation to Chelmsford firefighter Nichola…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5429-194)
- [H 5520: An Act exempting George Patrinos from the maximum age requirement age for the p…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H5520-194)
- [H 4755: An Act amending the means tested senior citizen property tax exemption in the t…](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H4755-194)
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Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/MA-H2227-194 (as of 2026-11-01).