Bill
HB 4655
HB 4655 bars health licensing bodies from requiring implicit bias training for licensure, renewal, or registration.
Status & timeline
- Introduced: March 12, 2025 (Rep. Dave Prestin et al.).
- Passed both chambers: May 21, 2025.
- Sent to Governor: May 23, 2025.
- Signed by Governor: June 20, 2025.
- Effective date: September 1, 2025.
- Companion bill: SB 602.
Purpose / intent
- HB 4655 prohibits state health licensing authorities from requiring implicit bias training as a condition of initial licensure, registration, or license/registration renewal for health professionals. The bill’s stated purpose is to bar promulgation or enforcement of any rule that conditions licensure or renewal on completing implicit bias training.
Key provisions
- Adds section 16149 to the Michigan Public Health Code (1978 PA 368, MCL 333.1101–333.25211), containing two operative parts:
1. Prohibition: “The department or a board shall not promulgate or enforce a rule requiring implicit bias training as a condition of licensure or registration or as a condition of license or registration renewal.”
2. Rescission: R 338.7004 of the Michigan Administrative Code is rescinded (the bill removes that specific administrative rule).
Who is affected
- State agencies and licensing/regulatory boards that oversee health occupations under the Public Health Code (e.g., boards for medicine, nursing, dentistry, allied health professions).
- Health professionals and applicants for licensure or renewal in Michigan who otherwise might have been required to complete implicit bias training for licensure-related purposes.
- Entities that provide continuing education or training used to satisfy licensure requirements may see reduced demand where implicit bias training would have been required.
Scope and limits
- The ban is narrow and applies specifically to rules that make implicit bias training a condition of licensure, registration, or renewal. It does not, on its face, prohibit voluntary training, employer training, or non‑licensure‑related educational programs. It also does not explicitly address other types of cultural competency or implicit-bias–adjacent education unless framed as a licensure requirement.
Potential impacts and considerations
- Immediately prevents licensing boards from enforcing existing or future mandatory implicit bias training rules tied to licensure (including the rescinded R 338.7004).
- May limit a regulatory tool used to address provider behavior and health disparities; could prompt boards to pursue alternative approaches (e.g., voluntary education, different regulatory standards).
- Could affect ongoing or planned continuing education requirements and curriculum for health professionals if those requirements included mandatory implicit bias components.
Text reference
- Adds MCL section 16149 to 1978 PA 368 and rescinds Michigan Administrative Code rule R 338.7004.
Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.
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