{"id":53556,"date":"2022-03-15T07:19:20","date_gmt":"2022-03-15T15:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/03\/15\/state-treasurers-discuss-marijuana-banking-challenges-at-annual-conference-with-congressional-officials\/"},"modified":"2022-03-15T13:45:45","modified_gmt":"2022-03-15T21:45:45","slug":"state-treasurers-discuss-marijuana-banking-challenges-at-annual-conference-with-congressional-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/2022\/03\/15\/state-treasurers-discuss-marijuana-banking-challenges-at-annual-conference-with-congressional-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"State Treasurers Discuss Marijuana Banking Challenges At Annual Conference With Congressional Officials"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

State treasures from across the U.S. participated in a panel on Tuesday that focused on federal marijuana banking reform as part of a three-day conference organized by the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) that was attended by stakeholders and congressional officials.<\/p>\n

Moderated by Colorado Treasurer Dave Young, the panel discussed the \u201chistory, challenges, and prospects for SAFE banking laws that would allow legal cannabis businesses into the mainstream banking system,\u201d according to an event description.<\/p>\n

\n

My pleasure! Let\u2019s pass the #SAFEBankingAct<\/a> in the Senate! https:\/\/t.co\/2L9qcHhsZG<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Colorado Treasurer Dave Young (@ColoTreasurer) March 15, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act was a focal point of the discussion. That bill, sponsored by Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), would protect financial institutions that choose to service state-legal cannabis businesses from being penalized by federal regulators. It\u2019s passed the U.S. House of Representatives in some form<\/a> six times but has yet to advance in the Senate under either Republican or Democratic control.<\/p>\n

Perlmutter\u2019s senior legislative assistant Colin Anonsen spoke on the NAST conference panel, alongside representatives of Scotts Miracle-Gro and the American Bankers Association (ABA).<\/p>\n

ABA recently released a poll it commissioned showing majority support for marijuana banking reform<\/a> among Americans.<\/p>\n

State treasurers have been among the consistent voices pushing Congress to take action on the issue, submitting multiple letters to leadership on the issue<\/a> over the years<\/a>, for example. In 2019, NAST adopted a resolution endorsing \u201ccommon sense federal laws and regulations to provide essential banking services to state legalized cannabis businesses.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014
\nMarijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
\n\"\"<\/a>
\nLearn more about our marijuana bill tracker<\/a> and become a supporter on Patreon<\/a> to get access.
\n\u2014<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNAST supports common sense federal laws and regulations to provide essential banking services to state legalized cannabis businesses, promote public safety and financial transparency, and facilitate local, state, and federal tax and fee collection without compromising federal enforcement of anti-money laundering laws against criminal enterprises,\u201d the organization said in a statement to Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n

However, a spokesperson emphasized that NAST \u201ctakes no position as to whether cannabis should be legalized under the laws of the United States or of any state.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the first day of the NAST conference<\/a> on Sunday, members of the organization\u2019s Banking and Cash Management Committee also met to discuss the organization\u2019s previously adopted banking resolution, which is due to be renewed this year. Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti serves as a member of that committee and told Marijuana Moment in a statement that he\u2019s \u201ccommitted to doing everything my office can do to urge Congress to legalize cannabis banking this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

In DC, affirming support for banking reform for the cannabis industry. \u201cAs the first state with legal #cannabis<\/a> a decade ago, WA must convince #congress<\/a> to finally get our state\u2019s legal #marijuana<\/a> retail stores out of the cash business an into banking.\u201d
\u2013 Treasurer Pellicciotti<\/p>\n

\u2014 WA State Treasurer (@WaTreasurer) March 14, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

\u201cLegal retailers must be allowed out of the cash business to stop the inequities and traumatic daily robberies taking place in Washington state and around the country due to a decade of congressional inaction,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m focused on uniting state treasurers around the country to amplify this critical equity and public safety issue in America, and I look forward to meeting with members of Congress this week to explain why it must pass cannabis banking now.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he is in D.C., Pellicciotti plans to meet with lawmakers to discuss cannabis banking and other issues of interest.<\/p>\n

In the House, Perlmutter has been vocal about his frustration over inaction on his SAFE Banking Act in the Senate. He has also continued to raise the issue in committee hearings<\/a>, even those that don\u2019t necessarily pertain to the issue.<\/p>\n

At a recent event hosted by ABA, the congressman promised to \u201ccontinue to be a real pest, and persistent in getting this done\u201d<\/a> before he retires from Congress at the end of the session.<\/p>\n

Following the bipartisan House passage of the banking bill, Perlmutter said he naively expected it \u201cto sail through the Senate, which is always a bad assumption, because nothing sails through the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he\u2019s taken pains to build support, including from current Senate leadership that has insisted on enacting comprehensive legalization with firm equity provisions in place before advancing a bill viewed as friendly to the industry.<\/p>\n

Despite recently\u00a0saying that he\u2019s \u201cconfident\u201d that the Senate will take up his bill<\/a>\u00a0this session, the congressman recognized that while he\u2019s supportive of revisions related to criminal justice reform, taxation, research and other issues, he knows that \u201cas we expand this thing, then we start losing votes, particularly Republican votes and we got enough votes in the Senate to do it\u201d as is.<\/p>\n

Perlmutter also brought up the fact that Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has\u00a0addressed the federal-state marijuana banking conflict<\/a>\u00a0and \u201cshe wants to get this off her plate and get it done.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the number of banks that report working with marijuana businesses\u00a0ticked up again near the end of 2021<\/a>, according to recently released federal data.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear if the increase is related to congressional moves to pass a bipartisan cannabis banking reform bill, but the figures from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) signal that financial institutions continue to feel more comfortable servicing businesses in state-legal markets.<\/p>\n

Some Republicans have questioned how Democrats have so far failed to pass the modest banking reform with majorities in both chambers and control of the White House, too. For example, Rep. Rand Paul (R-KY) criticized his Democratic colleagues over the issue<\/a>\u00a0in December.<\/p>\n

In the interim, federal financial regulator Rodney Hood\u2014a board member and former chairman of the federal National Credit Union Administration (NCUA)\u2014recently said that marijuana legalization is not a question of \u201cif\u201d but \u201cwhen,\u201d and he\u2019s again offering advice on\u00a0how to navigate the federal-state conflict<\/a>\u00a0that has left many banks reluctant to work with cannabis businesses.<\/p>\n

\n

Colorado Activists Pick One Of Several Psychedelics Reform Initiatives To Pursue For November Ballot<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n

The post State Treasurers Discuss Marijuana Banking Challenges At Annual Conference With Congressional Officials<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n


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\nRead More: State Treasurers Discuss Marijuana Banking Challenges At Annual Conference With Congressional Officials<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

State treasures from across the U.S. participated in a panel on Tuesday that focused on federal marijuana banking reform as part of a three-day conference organized by the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST) that was attended by stakeholders and congressional officials. Moderated by Colorado Treasurer Dave Young, the panelContinue Reading<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":458,"featured_media":53557,"comment_status":"false","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[18,81],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53556"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/458"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":53558,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53556\/revisions\/53558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cannabiscultivatornews.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}