{"id":7381,"date":"2024-12-23T11:53:46","date_gmt":"2024-12-23T16:53:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedems.com\/irwin\/?p=7381"},"modified":"2024-12-23T11:57:06","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T16:57:06","slug":"legislature-passes-protections-for-families-struggling-with-debt","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2024\/12\/23\/legislature-passes-protections-for-families-struggling-with-debt\/","title":{"rendered":"Legislature Passes Protections for Families Struggling With Debt"},"content":{"rendered":"\n[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.3″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]
House Bills 4900, 4901 would shield homes, wages, and public benefits from excessive collections<\/i>\u00a0<\/div>\n
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LANSING, Mich. (Dec. 23, 2024) \u2014 The Michigan Legislature has passed House Bills 4900<\/a><\/u><\/span> and 4901<\/a><\/u><\/span> to ensure that Michigan residents are not pushed into poverty by creditors. Rep. Kara Hope<\/b> (D-Holt) sponsored House Bill 4900, which would update consumer debt garnishment exemptions for wages, homes, vehicles, and tools of the trade to reflect modern values. It would also prevent debt collectors from intercepting Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) public benefits intended to support vulnerable families. Rep. Brenda Carter<\/b> (D-Pontiac) sponsored House Bill 4901, which would ensure that people who own modest homes can protect them in bankruptcy. Sen. Jeff Irwin<\/b> (D-Ann Arbor) and Sen. Mary Cavanagh <\/b>(D-Redford Twp.) sponsored the Senate versions of the bills, Senate Bills 408<\/a><\/u><\/span> and 409<\/a><\/u><\/span>, which did not pass both chambers as the House bills moved instead.\u00a0<\/div>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s counterproductive for a creditor to take so much from a person that they lose their housing or their transportation to work,\u201d Sen. Irwin <\/b>said. \u201cThat sort of excessive seizure interferes with people\u2019s ability to pay their debts and may force them to rely on public benefits. But current exemption amounts haven\u2019t been updated in generations, severely eroding their usefulness. I worked to negotiate this legislation with a wide range of stakeholders so that it will provide a healthy balance for our state.\u201d\u00a0<\/div>\n
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\u201cBankruptcy is an important function of our economic system. Unfortunately, it does not currently serve its purpose when individuals are left destitute after the process \u2014 losing their home and transportation, along with the means to sustain themselves,\u201d Sen. Cavanagh <\/b>said. \u201cThe current homestead exemption law protects just over $46,000, less than one-fifth of the price of a median home in our state. It is vital to increase bankruptcy exemptions to reasonable amounts so Michiganders going through a hard time still have the capacity to keep their homes and participate in our society and economy.\u201d\u00a0<\/div>\n
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\u201cI am proud to have been part of the legislative majority that increased the Earned Income Tax Credit for working families in Michigan,\u201d Rep. Hope <\/b>said. \u201cThat money is a publicly funded benefit. It is meant to buy kids\u2019 winter boots and put food on the table; it should not be going straight into the pockets of debt collectors. Yet, this year, more than 50,000 Michigan households had their EITC intercepted. This legislation will exempt EITC from interception to collect consumer debts.\u201d\u00a0<\/div>\n
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\u201cFamilies must struggle generation after generation when they are rendered homeless by a bankruptcy homestead exemption that is too low to protect their housing or the savings they have invested in it over a lifetime,\u201d Rep. Carter <\/b>said. \u201cI have seen how my community has been disproportionately harmed by debt garnishment and excessive debt collection practices. This legislation will help families get back on their feet, so that they are not forever disadvantaged by a financial setback.\u201d\u00a0<\/div>\n
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\u201cA broad coalition supports one or both of the bills in this package, from Pew Charitable Trusts to CEDAM to the Christian Coalition,\u201d Sen. Irwin <\/b>said. \u201cWe hope that Gov. Whitmer will move swiftly to sign this bill into law for the people of our state.\u201d\u00a0<\/div>\n
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House Bills 4900, 4901 would shield homes, wages, and public benefits from excessive collections\u00a0 \u00a0 LANSING, Mich. (Dec. 23, 2024) \u2014 The Michigan Legislature has passed House Bills 4900 and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":7382,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7381","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"\nLegislature Passes Protections for Families Struggling With Debt - Senator Jeff Irwin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"House Bills 4900, 4901 would shield homes, wages, and public benefits from excessive collections\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2024\/12\/23\/legislature-passes-protections-for-families-struggling-with-debt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Legislature Passes Protections for Families Struggling With Debt\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"House Bills 4900, 4901 would shield homes, wages, and public benefits from excessive collections\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2024\/12\/23\/legislature-passes-protections-for-families-struggling-with-debt\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Senator Jeff Irwin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-12-23T16:53:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-12-23T16:57:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2024\/12\/Legislature-Passes-Protections-for-Families-Struggling-With-Debt-.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"853\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"jlindsay\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"jlindsay\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2024\/12\/23\/legislature-passes-protections-for-families-struggling-with-debt\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2024\/12\/23\/legislature-passes-protections-for-families-struggling-with-debt\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"jlindsay\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/#\/schema\/person\/45d5eb060d7edbcdc7627afd6f26c534\"},\"headline\":\"Legislature Passes Protections for Families Struggling With Debt\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-12-23T16:53:46+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-12-23T16:57:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2024\/12\/23\/legislature-passes-protections-for-families-struggling-with-debt\/\"},\"wordCount\":586,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2024\/12\/23\/legislature-passes-protections-for-families-struggling-with-debt\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/19\/2024\/12\/Legislature-Passes-Protections-for-Families-Struggling-With-Debt-.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Press Release\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2024\/12\/23\/legislature-passes-protections-for-families-struggling-with-debt\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/irwin\/2024\/12\/23\/legislature-passes-protections-for-families-struggling-with-debt\/\",\"name\":\"Legislature Passes Protections for Families Struggling With Debt - 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