Sullivan Bill Comes Up for Final Vote in House Today

State Representative Ralph W. Sullivan's bill to prevent the teaching of doctrines that advocate "the overthrow of the government by force or violence" in schools and colleges in Massachusetts comes up for a final reading in the House tomorrow. A spirited debate on the bill is anticipated.

The proposed law, II. 422, received voice vote approval in the House during the Monday session. No debate preceded the vote. If it is passed tomorrow, H. 442 will go on to the Senate for ratification.

Passage of the Sullivan Bill in the Senate is unlikely.

Opponents of the bill, which would deprive educational institutions found guilty of employing subversives of their tax exemption status, fear H. 442 may be difficult to stop in the House.

"It's a 'nonsense bill,'" Representative Daniel Rudsten of Boston said last night. "A majority in the House are against the bill but they are afraid to voice opposition to it because then they themselves might be open to accusations of sympathizing with communism." No secret ballot on H. 442 is likely, Rudsten added.

One Year in Jail

As presented to the House, H. 442 also included an amendment imposing a $30 fine and a one year jail sentence on the individual found guilty of advocating overthrow of the government in the classroom.

Another amendment to the original version of Sullivan's suggested measure is the replacement of the phrase "one who is a member of the Communist Party and who advocates its doctrines of atheism," by the phrase, "one who advocates . . . overthrow . . . by force or violence."