diff --git a/hooks/scripts/check-config.sh b/hooks/scripts/check-config.sh
index c5a8f09..bb20a6e 100755
--- a/hooks/scripts/check-config.sh
+++ b/hooks/scripts/check-config.sh
@@ -37,7 +37,9 @@ load_env_vars() {
       # command substitution in backtick-containing comments
       value="${value%%[[:space:]]#*}"
       if [[ -n "$key" && -n "$value" ]]; then
-        declare -g "ENV_${key}=${value}"
+        # printf -v writes via assignment semantics (global from inside a
+        # function), works on macOS's /bin/bash 3.2 — `declare -g` is 4.2+.
+        printf -v "ENV_${key}" '%s' "$value"
       fi
     done < "$file"
   fi