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Read. Follow. Verify.Michigan House Bill 4021 Mandates Eviction Pretrial Hearings and Authorizes Magistrates to Conduct Trials
Last action · March 18, 2025: referred to Committee on RulesSponsors: Joseph Aragona and 6 others
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What This Bill Would Do
Michigan House Bill 4021 requires courts handling summary eviction proceedings to conduct a mandatory pretrial hearing where parties are verbally informed of required court rules. The bill also authorizes attorney s to conduct eviction trials if permitted by the chief judge.
Changes court procedures for landlords and tenants involved in eviction proceedings by mandating pretrial hearings and expanding the authority of s to oversee eviction trials.
- Summary proceedings in Michigan govern fast-track legal actions to recover possession of premises, most commonly evictions. context
- District court magistrates are judicial officers with limited statutory jurisdiction appointed by district court judges. context
Who It Would Affect
Groups the bill's text would affect if enacted, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Tenants
Tenants involved in summary proceedings must attend a newly mandated pretrial hearing where they are verbally informed of court rule advice.
Landlords
Landlords filing summary proceedings are subject to mandatory pretrial hearing requirements and potential trial adjudication by magistrates.
District Court Magistrates
District court magistrates who are attorneys may be authorized by chief judges to conduct eviction trials and must conduct mandatory pretrial hearings.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens at the newly required pretrial hearing?
Can any magistrate conduct an eviction trial under this bill?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Currently in committee. The next step in the legislative lifecycle is Floor Vote.
Procedural history
7 actions- Mar 18, 2025HouseCommitteereferred to Committee on Rules
- Mar 5, 2025Housereferred to second reading
- Mar 5, 2025HouseCommitteereported with recommendation with substitute (H-1)
- Jan 29, 2025Housebill electronically reproduced 01/28/2025
- Jan 28, 2025HouseCommitteereferred to Committee on Judiciary
- Jan 28, 2025HouseIntroducedread a first time
Show 1 earlier action
- Jan 28, 2025HouseIntroducedintroduced by Representative Rep. Joseph Aragona
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Magistrate Authority in Summary Proceedings
The legislation broadens the scope of district court magistrates by allowing those who are attorneys to conduct eviction trials if authorized by the chief judge.
Connected Entities
Sources
legislature.mi.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz20Current news / social attention level
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