U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced legislation that seeks to ensure that legally operating cannabis small businesses have access to loans and programs provided by the Small Business Administration (SBA).
Currently, the SBA excludes all small businesses with direct or indirect products or services related to cannabis from accessing SBA loans and programs. Rosen’s bill, the Fair Access for Cannabis Small Business Act, would change that.
“The unfair barriers to basic federal support and resources have hurt our state’s legally-operating cannabis small businesses,” Rosen, a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, said. “This legislation will level the playing field so that cannabis small businesses – including those owned by people of color, women, and veterans– have access to the same federal resources and loans that other legal businesses are entitled to.”
Specifically, it would legislate that cannabis small businesses have access to SBA programs and loans like 7(a) loans, disaster loans, microloans, and the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program. In addition, it would provide access to SBA’s resource partners, including SCORE, Veterans Business Outreach Centers, and Women’s Business Centers.
“Senator Rosen’s landmark legislation would help advance equity and innovation in the cannabis industry by leveling the playing field for independent cannabis operators,” Khadijah Tribble, CEO of the U.S. Cannabis Council, said. “If paired with the SAFE Banking Act, The Fair Access for Cannabis Small Businesses Act would create a regulatory framework that would ensure a vibrant startup scene and a diversity of players.”
Earlier this year, Rosen sent a letter to the Senate Appropriations, urging it to include language preventing the SBA from excluding from its loan and entrepreneurship programs legally operated cannabis small businesses.
“At MCBA, we believe that when we center small businesses in our policy-making, it is Black and brown entrepreneurs that will benefit — as most of the largest cannabis companies are not minority-owned. It is critical that small businesses in the cannabis industry have an opportunity to access the same resources as any other non-cannabis business,” Kaliko Castille, president of the Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA), said.