Politics
Bipartisan Lawmakers File Marijuana Banking Bill As Trump’s Rescheduling Move Advances
A bipartisan coalition of U.S. senators and representatives have filed legislation to protect banks from being punished for providing financial services to marijuana businesses.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking (SAFE) Act is intended to ease the cannabis industry’s access to financial services, which have been difficult to obtain for some businesses in the sector under ongoing federal prohibition.
Led by in the Senate Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and cosponsored by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Steve Daines (R-MT), the newly refiled measure comes days ahead of the start of a hearing on the Trump administration’s move to reschedule marijuana under federal law.
“Legal cannabis businesses operating in all-cash is dangerous for our communities—encouraging criminal activity like robberies, money laundering, and organized crime. It’s past time we ensure legal businesses can access the financial services they need to help keep their employees, their businesses, and their communities safe,” Merkley said in a press release. “The SAFE Banking Act is a common-sense, bipartisan solution, and I’ll keep working with both Republicans and Democrats to advance this reform.”
Earlier iterations of the banking legislation have been introduced in past sessions of Congress, and while versions have been approved by the House of Representatives on several occasions, the reform has never been enacted into law.
In the House of Representatives, the refiled bill is being led by Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), along with Reps. Jim Himes (D-CT), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Brian Mast (R-FL), Lou Correa (D-CA), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA) and Dina Titus (D-NV).
“State-licensed cannabis businesses employ thousands of Americans and generate significant tax revenue, yet many remain effectively shut out of the traditional banking system,” Joyce, who serves as a co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, said in a press release. “Forcing businesses to operate in cash not only hinders economic growth, but it also opens the doors for illegal activity like money laundering and organized crime.”
“This legislation would provide access to capital and the necessary financial services to operate a successful business and keep communities safe,” he said. “By introducing the SAFE Banking Act, Congress is showing its commitment to supporting small businesses and implementing commonsense cannabis policies that respect states’ rights to regulate the industry.”
The Senate Banking Committee approved a cannabis banking measure in 2023 but it was not subsequently taken up on the floor and died at the end of the 118th Congress.
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Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who currently chairs the banking panel, said last month that the fact that marijuana remains illegal at the federal level while more states legalize it has created a “quandary” for cannabis businesses and banks that wish to serve them.
Even though Scott has opposed the cannabis banking reform in the past, he said that the bill would “allow for the banking question to be solved by making it legal to bank it,” Scott said. “What you don’t want is to have a situation where you have these cash rooms where you have hundreds of thousands of dollars cash sitting in a location. Everyone knows you can’t bank it and therefore the criminal activity is much higher in these places.”
Himes, who is cosponsoring the newly filed House bill, said it is “long overdue that the federal government eliminate its unfair prohibition on state-legal cannabis businesses utilizing basic banking services.”
“Forcing legal businesses and their customers to operate exclusively in cash is nonsensical and dangerous, exposing both to unnecessary danger and hindering commerce in a growing industry,” he said. “This bill would provide certainty for the legal cannabis industry and allow it to serve its customers without fear of federal punishment for conducting legitimate business.”
Davidson, another cosponsor, said that “businesses operating legally under state law should not be forced into a cash-only system or denied basic financial services
“The SAFE Banking Act reduces the risks created by cash-only operations and gives financial institutions clear rules while protecting them from politically motivated regulatory retaliation. Banks should be free to serve lawful customers without interference from Washington.”
Velázquez, who serves as ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, said that “for too long, legal cannabis businesses have been shut out of the traditional banking system, forced into risky alternatives and made targets for crime.”
These small businesses are creating jobs and stimulating local economies. They deserve the same access to banking that every other lawful business already enjoys,” she said.
Beyond banking access for businesses, the new bill, S. 4942 in the Senate and H.R. 9471 in the House, also contains provisions to ensure that marijuana industry workers can get access to federally backed mortgage loans.
Read the full text of the cannabis banking bill as filed in the Senate below:
