Mass. Senate designates June 7 as Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day
June 05, 2025 | 2025 Legislature MA, Massachusetts
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The Massachusetts Senate passed an act designating June 7 as Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day (Senate No. 2152) after adopting an amendment and approving the emergency preamble, and the bill was ordered to be enacted and sent to the governor.
The designation was introduced on the floor by the senator from the Fourth Middlesex district, who described the measure as a response to advocacy by a Lexington constituent, 16-year-old Owen Rosenthal, diagnosed with Tourette syndrome in September 2023. "The legislation before us today would designate June 7 as Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day," the senator said on the floor. The senator cited figures from the Tourette Association of America and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that about 1 in 50 children ages 5 to 17 have a tic disorder or Tourette syndrome and said an observance could help reduce stigma.
The senator said the day of observance would not solve all challenges faced by people with Tourette syndrome but could bring "more attention to this issue that affects so many lives in the Commonwealth" and help reduce isolation. The Minority Leader voiced support for the measure and moved that the senator's remarks be printed in the Senate Journal.
An amendment presented by the senator for Middlesex (identified in the record as Miss Friedman) was read and adopted on the floor prior to final passage. The Senate approved the bill's emergency preamble during a standing vote called on the floor; the recorder announced that two members had voted in the affirmative in the count taken for that particular vote. After final consideration, the presiding officer said "the ayes have it" and the bills were passed to be enacted; the president will sign and lay the bill before the governor for approval.
The Senate record notes the measure as "An Act designating June 7 as Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day, Senate No. 2152." The transcript includes floor remarks thanking Owen Rosenthal for his advocacy and mentioning the Tourette Association of America and the CDC as sources for the prevalence figure. No further debate or amendments to change the bill's substantive scope were recorded in the provided transcript.
The matter will move to the governor for approval; the transcript does not record the governor's action or implementation steps for the observance.
The designation was introduced on the floor by the senator from the Fourth Middlesex district, who described the measure as a response to advocacy by a Lexington constituent, 16-year-old Owen Rosenthal, diagnosed with Tourette syndrome in September 2023. "The legislation before us today would designate June 7 as Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day," the senator said on the floor. The senator cited figures from the Tourette Association of America and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that about 1 in 50 children ages 5 to 17 have a tic disorder or Tourette syndrome and said an observance could help reduce stigma.
The senator said the day of observance would not solve all challenges faced by people with Tourette syndrome but could bring "more attention to this issue that affects so many lives in the Commonwealth" and help reduce isolation. The Minority Leader voiced support for the measure and moved that the senator's remarks be printed in the Senate Journal.
An amendment presented by the senator for Middlesex (identified in the record as Miss Friedman) was read and adopted on the floor prior to final passage. The Senate approved the bill's emergency preamble during a standing vote called on the floor; the recorder announced that two members had voted in the affirmative in the count taken for that particular vote. After final consideration, the presiding officer said "the ayes have it" and the bills were passed to be enacted; the president will sign and lay the bill before the governor for approval.
The Senate record notes the measure as "An Act designating June 7 as Tourette Syndrome Awareness Day, Senate No. 2152." The transcript includes floor remarks thanking Owen Rosenthal for his advocacy and mentioning the Tourette Association of America and the CDC as sources for the prevalence figure. No further debate or amendments to change the bill's substantive scope were recorded in the provided transcript.
The matter will move to the governor for approval; the transcript does not record the governor's action or implementation steps for the observance.
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