Idaho Statutes Title 73. General Code Provisions § 73-114A. Legislative intent on respectful language

(1) It is the intent of the legislature that the Idaho Code be amended to remove certain archaic language related to the condition of individuals. Certain terms, such as “idiots,” “handicap,” “retarded,” “lunatic” and “deficient,” when applied to individuals, have outlived their usefulness. The term “intellectual disability” as used in this act is intended to replace the term “mental retardation” as previously used in the Idaho Code.

(2) The legislature intends that the emphasis should be on people first, rather than on archaic labels. Therefore, any new or amended section of the Idaho Code should incorporate more modern and people first language when referring to the condition of individuals, as used in this act.

(3) The legislature further intends that rules promulgated under the administrative procedure act, chapter 52, title 67, Idaho Code, after the effective date of this act, should incorporate more modern and people first language when referring to the condition of individuals, as used in this act. Where appropriate and when the use of more modern and people first language will not substantively change the meaning of a rule, the rules coordinator is encouraged to use the authority provided for in section 67-5202(2), Idaho Code, to replace archaic language in the administrative code with more modern and people first language, as used in this act.

(4) This act's substitution of more modern and people first language in place of archaic language when referring to the condition of individuals shall not change the substantive interpretation of the amended Idaho Code sections or the case law interpreting those sections.