Two U.S. Senators are urging the Chair and Ranking Member of a committee to vote on the SAFE banking bill.
This week, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley and U.S. Senator Steve Daines sent a letter to the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. They are asking to schedule a vote for the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. If lawmakers pass the cannabis banking bill, it will allow state-legal cannabis businesses to access banks and other financial services while protecting banks from federal penalties.
The Senators also cite bipartisan support for their bill, stating, “This legislation, which would create common-sense reform to the state-legal cannabis industry, has strong bipartisan support in the Senate with 37 co-sponsors.”
The SAFE Banking Act also passed for the second time in the House with a 321-101 vote back in April.
The Senators’ Letter
In this letter, Senators’ claim the issue with the SAFE Banking Act is a matter of public safety and not just banking. “The inability of these state-legal entities to bank their significant cash reserves is an issue of public safety.”
The letter continues, “According to the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), there have been 135 robberies and armed burglaries against cannabis dispensaries in the state since May 2020. Montana is no exception to this. In Yellowstone County, two medical marijuana dispensaries were burglarized on the same day in March.”
Not only is there growing concern for public safety. According to BDSA, legal U.S. cannabis sales in 2020 also reached $17.5 billion. Experts expect the sales will exceed $41 billion by 2026. “For the good of our communities, we cannot allow huge proportions of these funds to remain unbanked,” the letter states.
The Senators’ letter concluded, “We owe this to our constituents to hold a markup on this bill and further the legislative process … we ask that the committee take action on this legislation without delay.”
SAFE Banking Act
If the cannabis banking act passes in the Senate, it will address concerns from state-legal businesses being blocked from banking services. The SAFE Banking Act will prevent federal regulators from:
- Prohibiting, penalizing, or discouraging a bank from providing financial services to a state-sanctioned and regulated cannabis business;
- Terminating or limiting a bank’s federal deposit insurance solely due to the bank providing services to cannabis businesses;
- Recommending or incentivizing a bank to cutoff or decrease banking services to said businesses; or
- Taking any action for a loan to an owner or operator of a cannabis-related business.
The measure not only protects a bank’s right to choose not to offer services to a cannabis business, but will also provide protections for hemp and hemp-derived CBD-related businesses. Moreover, it will create a safe harbor from criminal prosecution, liability, and asset forfeiture for banks and their employees who provide financial services to state-legal cannabis businesses.
The bill requires banks to comply with the current Financial Crimes Enforcement Network guidance. Finally, it allows the direction to be streamlined as states and the federal government adopt legalized marijuana policies.
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