Congress is slated to vote on the $1.7 trillion omnibus appropriations package this week to fund the federal government, but as it currently stands, the SAFE Banking Act won’t be part of it.
The SAFE (Secure and Fair Enforcement) Banking Act is a bill that would allow cannabis-related businesses in states where it is legal to access banking services. Currently, federal law prohibits banks and credit unions from providing loans and other services to cannabis businesses, even when state laws say differently. Thus, the SAFE Banking Act would prohibit a federal banking regulator from penalizing a depository institution for providing banking services to a legitimate cannabis-related business.
The bill has passed the U.S. House of Representatives multiple times, though it has never been taken up by the Senate. The bill was left out of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) last month, but hopes were high that it would be included in the omnibus. But, according to several news reports, the bill did not have the support of powerful Senate Republicans, including Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA).
Lawmakers on both sides of the political aisle voiced their displeasure that this bill has not been included in the omnibus package, including Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR), one of the bill’s sponsors.
“I am frustrated and disappointed that after coming so close to meaningful cannabis reform this Congress, the Republican Leader and a handful of Republican senators thwarted our efforts to improve public safety. Because when you are forcing businesses to operate as cash only, it is a public safety issue. While action on SAFE Banking may no longer be possible in 2022, you better believe I’m going to keep fighting in the new Congress to bring common sense to the federal treatment of cannabis and begin to repair the harms done by the failed War on Drugs,” Wyden said.
His colleague, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), who has introduced the SAFE Banking Act every year since 2015, does not plan to stop pushing for it, despite the setback.
“We should have been able to pass the SAFE Banking Act this Congress. While Minority Leader McConnell’s opposition stood in the way of passage, we’ve made so much progress on forging bipartisan consensus. We have a path forward in 2023, and I won’t rest until we get it done,” Merkley tweeted Tuesday.
One of the major concerns is that these legal cannabis businesses become targets for crime, as they are forced to operate in all-cash without access to banking services.
“The failure to pass my bipartisan SAFE Banking Act means communities in Montana and across our country will remain vulnerable to crime where legal businesses are forced to operate in all-cash,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), one of the bill’s sponsors, tweeted .
Cannabis industry leaders also expressed their disappointment at Congress’s inability to pass this bill.
“Cannabis is legal in 39 states and supported by 92 percent of the public. The House seems to understand this, but the Senate continues to struggle. Failure to act by Congress ignores the will of the people and the validity of the industry and places unnecessary risks on legal businesses. This must be a priority for the upcoming session and no longer minimized or kicked down the road,” Gary Santos, CEO of Tilt Holdings, a Massachusetts-based cannabis business, said Tuesday.
Kim Rivers, founder and CEO of Florida-based cannabis company Trulieve, echoed that sentiment.
“Despite significant bipartisan support within Congress and increasing popularity among constituents, cannabis reform to allow basic banking services for state legal cannabis companies has once again failed to advance. As a result, the 425,000 employees working in the legal cannabis industry will continue to face undue risk of robberies and economic harm. Trulieve will continue to fight for meaningful cannabis reform to provide greater security for our employees and increased access to cannabis,” Rivers said.