Michigan House Bill HB4605

Michigan 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 6/10/25
• Refer: 6/10/25

Caption

Financial institutions: other; certain references in the regulatory loan act; make gender neutral. Amends sec. 17 of 1939 PA 21 (MCL 493.17). TIE BAR WITH: HJR F'25

Summary

HB4605 amends section 17 of Michigan’s Regulatory Loan Act to update the statute’s language to be gender neutral. The bill replaces references such as “husband and wife” with “spouses,” and similarly updates other wording to refer to borrowers and spouses in neutral terms. It also preserves the existing rule that certain assignments of wages or salary given to secure a regulated loan are invalid, and that liens or chattel mortgages on household goods must be in writing and signed in person by the borrower. The bill does not create a new lending rule or expand the scope of the Regulatory Loan Act; rather, it modernizes terminology in a section governing the validity of wage assignments and liens on household goods used as loan security. It also keeps the current protection that a spouse’s written assent is generally required for a lien on household goods when the borrower is married, while maintaining the exception for spouses who have lived separate and apart for at least five months. The bill is tied to a companion constitutional resolution, meaning it would not take effect unless that resolution becomes part of the state constitution.

Impact

HB4605 would amend MCL 493.17 in the Regulatory Loan Act to replace gendered marital references with gender-neutral language and make corresponding grammatical updates. The practical legal effect is limited: the bill preserves the existing invalidity of wage assignments for covered loans and the existing restrictions on chattel mortgages or liens on household goods, while clarifying that the spousal-signature requirement applies to spouses rather than specifically to husbands and wives. Because the bill is tie-barred to a constitutional resolution, its changes would only take effect if that related constitutional amendment is adopted.

Sentiment

The available context suggests the bill is largely noncontroversial and technical in nature. Its stated purpose is to make statutory language gender neutral, which typically draws broad support as a modernization and cleanup measure. There is no recorded committee transcript or vote history in the provided materials indicating opposition or debate, and the bill’s tie-bar to a constitutional resolution appears to be the main procedural feature rather than a substantive point of dispute.

Contention

The main point of potential contention is not the gender-neutral drafting itself, but the bill’s dependence on a separate constitutional resolution before taking effect. That tie-bar means the statutory amendment is contingent on another measure’s success, which can complicate enactment. Substantively, the bill preserves the existing requirement for spousal assent on liens against household goods, so any concern would likely center on the continued scope of those consumer-protection rules rather than the terminology update. No specific opposing viewpoints are reflected in the provided record.