diff --git a/system/BaseModel.php b/system/BaseModel.php
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/system/BaseModel.php
+++ b/system/BaseModel.php
@@ -290,12 +290,9 @@ abstract class BaseModel
 	/**
 	 * BaseModel constructor.
 	 *
-	 * @param object|null              $db         DB Connection
 	 * @param ValidationInterface|null $validation Validation
-	 *
-	 * @phpstan-ignore-next-line
 	 */
-	public function __construct(object &$db = null, ValidationInterface $validation = null)
+	public function __construct(ValidationInterface $validation = null)
 	{
 		$this->tempReturnType     = $this->returnType;
 		$this->tempUseSoftDeletes = $this->useSoftDeletes;
diff --git a/system/Model.php b/system/Model.php
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/system/Model.php
+++ b/system/Model.php
@@ -90,9 +90,16 @@ class Model extends BaseModel
 	 */
 	public function __construct(ConnectionInterface &$db = null, ValidationInterface $validation = null)
 	{
-		parent::__construct($db, $validation);
+		parent::__construct($validation);
 
-		$this->db = $db ?? Database::connect($this->DBGroup);
+		if (is_null($db))
+		{
+			$this->db = Database::connect($this->DBGroup);
+		}
+		else
+		{
+			$this->db = &$db;
+		}
 	}
 
 	//--------------------------------------------------------------------
BaseModel/Model - Reworked Constructor to properly use reference