Bipartisan Senate and House lawmakers have refiled a much-anticipated bill to free up banking services for the marijuana industry.<\/p>\n
Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT), along with Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), reintroduced the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in their respective chambers on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The legislation, which has been slightly revised since last session, would protect banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses from being penalized by federal regulators.<\/p>\n
\u201cForcing legal businesses to operate in all-cash is dangerous for our communities; it\u2019s an open invitation to robbery, money laundering, and organized crime\u2014and it\u2019s way past time to fix it,\u201d Merkley said in a press release. \u201cFor the first time, we have a path for SAFE Banking to move through the Senate Banking Committee and get a vote on the floor of the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nRight now, legal cannabis businesses are forced to operate entirely in cash. It’s a dangerous system\u2014ripe for robbery, assaults, tax fraud, and money laundering. If you care about public safety, cash is a terrible system.<\/p>\n
\u2014 Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) April 26, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
\u201cLet\u2019s make 2023 the year that we get this bill signed into law so we can ensure that all legal cannabis businesses have access to the financial services they need to help keep their employees, their businesses, and their communities safe,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\nCannabis reform needs to be rooted in restorative justice. The SAFE Banking Act of 2023 includes expanded equity provisions, and I\u2019m going to be pushing to pair it with funding for states that choose to expunge cannabis records as part of a final package. #SAFEBankingAct<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) April 26, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Daines said that the legislation would \u201cprovide the security and peace of mind that legal Montana cannabis businesses need to freely use banks, credit unions and other financial products without a fear of punishment\u201d and also \u201chelp keep our Montana communities safe, keep crime off the streets, support Montana small businesses and bolster local economies.\u201d<\/p>\n
This latest version<\/a> further makes clear that the safe harbor is extended to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) and Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs) that make commercial loans to minority-owned businesses\u2014a new provision that advocates pushed for last Congress.<\/p>\n
Another addition to the bill that wasn\u2019t in prior versions provides marijuana industry workers access to federally backed mortgage loans.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs it stands, the federal government has denied state-legal cannabis companies the same access to financial services as every other legal business across the Buckeye State and our country,\u201d Joyce, co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said. \u201cNot only does this distort the market in a growing industry, but it also forces businesses to operate in all cash, making them and their employees sitting ducks for violent robberies.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bipartisan SAFE Banking Act will allow cannabis businesses to operate legally without fear of punishment by federal regulators, making our communities safer,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Blumenauer, founder of the Cannabis Caucus, said that the bill \u201cwill save lives and livelihoods.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is past time that Congress addresses the irrational, unfair, and unsafe prohibition of basic banking services to state-legal cannabis businesses,\u201d he said. \u201cThe House has passed the SAFE Banking Act on a bipartisan basis seven times. I am delighted that the Senate is joining us in making it a priority.\u201d<\/p>\n
Beside Merkley and Daines, the Senate bill has 38 additional cosponsors, including five Republican members.<\/p>\n
Those supporters are Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n\u00a0(D-NM), Dan Sullivan (D-AK), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Rand Paul (R-KY), Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Gary Peters (D-MI) and Chris Murphy (D-CT).<\/p>\n
The House version has eight additional cosponsors in addition to the two leads.<\/p>\n
Those lawmakers are Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Jim Himes (D-CT), Brian Mast (R-FL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Nydia Vel\u00e1zquez (D-NY), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) and Lou Correa (D-CA).<\/p>\n
Of course, this is not the so-called SAFE Plus package of marijuana banking and expungements legislation that Senate leadership worked to advance last year but which fell short of being enacted.<\/p>\n
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Sherrod Brown (D-OH) said earlier this month that his panel will take up cannabis banking reform on its own, leaving equity and criminal justice proposals to other committees of jurisdiction.<\/p>\n
Merkley and Daines released a separate joint statement on Wednesday that addressed the prospects for SAFE Plus, saying the introduction of the revised standalone bill \u201cputs us on a path to move through the Senate Banking Committee and get a vote on the floor of the Senate,\u201d but there will be an \u201copportunity to add additional regular-order passed provisions\u201d when it reaches the floor.<\/p>\n
The senators cited recently filed bipartisan proposals on marijuana expungements and gun rights as examples of potential add-ons to the legislation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis expanded \u2018SAFE Banking Plus\u2019\u00a0package will represent the largest-ever cannabis reform legislation with bipartisan support in Congress,\u201d they said. \u201cWe are committed to making 2023 the year a bill is signed into law that ensures all legal cannabis businesses have access to the financial services they need.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nThis will be a historic moment: the largest-ever cannabis reform package with bipartisan support. We have momentum on our side\u2014we can get this done. https:\/\/t.co\/Ie0wGy541x<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Senator Jeff Merkley (@SenJeffMerkley) April 26, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
With a divided Congress that has Republicans in control of the House, the expectation is that lawmakers will need to focus on incremental marijuana measures like the banking bill, instead of broader justice-centered legalization, to get any amount of reform passed this session.<\/p>\n
But a vote in the Senate on Wednesday has raised questions about whether any modest cannabis reform is achievable under the current congressional makeup. Senate Republicans blocked a procedural motion to advance a bipartisan bill<\/a> to simply require studies into the medical potential of cannabis for military veterans with chronic pain and PTSD.<\/p>\n
The standalone SAFE Banking Act has been approved along largely bipartisan lines in the House in some form several times in recent years. But it\u2019s consistently stalled out in the Senate under both Democratic and Republican leadership.<\/p>\n
Advocates have been anticipating that the legislation would originate in the Senate this round, but it appears that lawmakers decided to start with a bicameral push.<\/p>\n
Last week, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that he was \u201cdisappointed\u201d that the so-called SAFE Plus package of marijuana banking and expungements legislation he worked on last year didn\u2019t advance, saying \u201cwe came close,\u201d but \u201cwe ran into opposition in the last minute.\u201d He said lawmakers will continue to \u201cwork in a bipartisan way\u201d<\/a> to get the job done.<\/p>\n
\u201cUntil we reach our goal, I promise to be in your corner and work like hell bringing federal cannabis policy into the 21st century,\u201d he said. \u201cWe will need you, as we always do, to reach out to members of both parties, in both chambers\u2014especially Republican\u2014so we can make progress on cannabis reform.\u201d<\/p>\n
The majority leader has been holding meetings with Democratic<\/a>\u00a0and Republican members<\/a>\u00a0in the early months of the new Congress to discuss cannabis reform proposals that might have bipartisan buy-in this year.<\/p>\n
For his part, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) said recently that lawmakers are working to \u201cresurrect\u201d the cannabis reform package<\/a>, acknowledging that failure to advance a banking fix for the industry \u201cliterally means that hundreds of businesses go out of business.<\/p>\n
Blumenauer, who filed a bill to allow marijuana businesses to take federal tax deductions<\/a> last week, said at a recent press briefing that thinks it\u2019s important that advocates and lawmakers align on any incremental proposals to end the drug war, warning against an \u201call-or-nothing\u201d mentality<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, a number of cannabis bills were filed last week leading up to 4\/20, though lawmakers didn\u2019t explicitly say that the timing was related to the unofficial marijuana holiday.<\/p>\n
For example, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) introduced legislation last week to\u00a0protect the Second Amendment rights of people who use marijuana<\/a>\u00a0in legal states, allowing them to purchase and possess firearms that they\u2019re currently prohibited from having under federal law.<\/p>\n
Reps. Dave Joyce (R-OH) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) have filed a bill to\u00a0incentive state and local marijuana expungements<\/a>\u00a0with a federal grant program.<\/p>\n
Earlier this month, Joyce and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) filed a measure designed to\u00a0prepare the federal government for marijuana legalization<\/a>, directing the attorney general to form a commission to study and make recommendations about regulating cannabis in a way similar to alcohol.<\/p>\n
On the Senate side, lawmakers are set to vote on a motion to invoke cloture on a bill to promote research into marijuana for military veterans<\/a>. The procedural vote to bring the legislation to the floor is scheduled for Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\nMaine Lawmaker Files Bill To Allow Marijuana Interstate Commerce When Federal Policy Changes<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n
Photo courtesy of Philip Steffan<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n
The post Bipartisan U.S. House And Senate Lawmakers Reintroduce Marijuana Banking Bill<\/a> appeared first on Marijuana Moment<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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