On February 3, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) joined as the 41st cosponsor of the senate’s SAFE Banking Act. While Rep. Ed Perlmutter has vowed to attach SAFE Banking as an amendment to every bill he can, the cannabis banking measure is still opposed by senate leadership, who can remove it during the reconciliation process.
On January 10, 2022, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), chief sponsor and champion of the SAFE Banking Act, announced that he will not be seeking re-election to the United States House of Representatives. Cannabis banking reform was among the accomplishments mentioned by House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD) in response to Perlmutter’s retirement.
“I was proud to partner with him,” said Hoyer, in a statement, “to bring his SAFE Banking Act to the House Floor for a vote to ensure that legal cannabis businesses in Colorado and other states can access our banking system without facing undue hardships.” The House voted overwhelmingly in favor, but the bill stalled in the Senate for the second straight session.
After the Senate removed Perlmutter’s SAFE Banking amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act in December, cannabis banking already seemed out of reach until 2023. Without its main champion in the House, the business-focused fix is more likely than ever to be incorporated into future comprehensive reform.
Perlmutter has pledged to keep pushing SAFE Banking through amendment in 2022. Colleagues and activists praised him for his efforts on this and other cannabis reform measures over the years.
Contents
Original Cannabis Banking Reports
Status
Statement from Rep. Ed Perlmutter of Colorado
Updated: 7/23/21
Rep. Ed Perlmutter, sponsor of H.R. 1996, the House version of the SAFE Banking Act of 2021, released a statement about unbanked and underbanked consumers. He directly addressed cannabis businesses.
Unbanked and underbanked consumers often rely on alternative non-bank financial products such as check cashing, money orders, bill payment, or other services, which typically come with higher costs and may not be as reliable as traditional banking services. An additional 53 million Americans have access to a bank account but also rely on alternative financial services in place of traditional banking. According to a 2019 FDIC survey of U.S. households, the top reason reported by households for not having a bank account was because they did not have enough money to meet a bank account’s minimum balance requirements. Other reasons cited were a lack of trust in banks, privacy concerns, inconvenience, and fees.
Cannabis businesses are an example of an entire industry that remains significantly unbanked and underbanked. Cannabis with over 0.3% THC is not legalized under federal law and most financial institutions are unwilling to provide services to the industry out of fear of criminal prosecution or regulatory risk. Perlmutter’s bipartisan SAFE Banking Act, which has passed the U.S. of Representatives four times, would create a safe harbor for financial institutions serving state-legal cannabis businesses.
Colorado Rep. Ed Perlmutter, Sponsor of H.R. 1996
Statement from Rep. Charlie Crist
Updated: 6/30/21
Rep, Charlie Crist, D-F.L., released a statement yesterday updating constituents on the progress he’s made with the Financial Services Appropriations Bill. Among other accomplishments, he mentioned language added to protect cannabis banking in the style of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2021.
It’s hard to put too much faith in a Christmas-tree bill with text continually added, removed and changed before full passage. Still, the bill is out of committee headed for a full vote in the House. There’s hope that it will be allowed to quietly pass. Full post
The SAFE Banking Act as of June 22, 2021
The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2021 is a bill making its way through the United States Congress. Because cannabis is still listed under the Controlled Substances Act as a Schedule I narcotic, legal cannabis businesses can have their assets seized by the federal government. The SAFE Banking Act would protect cannabis businesses that use banking services and the financial institutions that provide those services.
Cannabis banking passed the US House in 2019 with overwhelming support (321-103). Unfortunately, the bill never made it out of the Senate Banking Committee. There is a renewed push for cannabis banking in this congressional session, but the future remains uncertain.
The SAFE Banking Act of 2021 passed in the House (H.R. 1996) on April 19, 2021, again with strong support (321-101). The Senate version (S. 910) was introduced and referred to the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on March 23. It has not been scheduled for markup yet.
The Senate co-sponsors, Sens. Jeff Merkley, D-O.R., and Steve Daines, R-M.T., sent an open letter on June 17. They asked the committee’s chairman and ranking member to schedule a markup of Senate 910 for the sake of public safety. For now, it seems to be stuck in the committee chaired by Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-O.H.
Profiles In Legalization News will be updating this page with stories and source links until cannabis banking is realized.
Senate 910 Text
SAFE-Banking-Act-of-2021-S-910We will continue to update this space with cannabis banking news. Visit our newsletter page to subscribe for updates.
- Commentary: It’s time for Biden to keep his promises on cannabisPaul Armentano, the deputy director of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), calls on President Joe Biden to live up to the pledges made during his campaign regarding cannabis legalization.
- Unofficial totals show Missouri cannabis legalization initiative shortAn initiative to legalize recreational marijuana use in Missouri will need help if it is going to be on the November ballot. Reports from every county in the state show the petition is short of its goal in two of the six congressional districts needed to qualify for the ballot.
- Fate of Missouri cannabis initiative unclear as signature count continuesWhether Missouri voters will get a chance to legalize recreational marijuana in November is still in question. The latest incomplete tabulations show the Legal Missouri 2022 initiative is short of the necessary signatures in four of the six Congressional districts necessary to make the ballot.
- ACLU of NV suit to deschedule cannabis statewide survives challengeA legal effort by the ACLU of Nevada to force the Nevada Board of Pharmacy to remove cannabis from its Schedule 1 of controlled substances will proceed, Clark County Judge Joe Hardy ruled Wednesday when he denied the board’s motion to dismiss the ACLU’s lawsuit.
- Advocates, parents ‘beg’ Nebraskans to seek out and sign petition to legalize medical cannabisAdvocates for legalizing medical marijuana switched Wednesday from urging Nebraskans to sign their petition to begging them as a July 7 deadline looms to submit signatures to qualify for the ballot in November.
- Iowans launch cannabis reform campaign aimed at showing public supportRobert “Lewy” Lewis of Windsor Heights has been in pain since 1974, when he had spinal surgery at the age of 21. To repair a blockage in his spine, surgeons removed eight inches of his vertebrae and then sewed them back on, using about 300 steel stitches.
- Big Apple Cannabis: CWCB Returns to New York City for Eighth Year“No one seems to have gotten it right.” Mayor Eric Adams told a Friday afternoon crowd, of legal cannabis in America. “This is our chance to get it right.” New York City’s mayor addressed attendees of the 2022 Cannabis World Congress & Business Expo (CWCBExpo) on the second day of the three-day event. Adams stressed the social equity focus of New York’s cannabis program.
- Nebraska medical cannabis backers file legal challenge to petition processSupporters of medical marijuana in Nebraska have launched a legal challenge to the state’s requirement that 5% of registered voters in at least 38 counties sign a petition to get the measure before voters on the ballot.
- N.J. lawmakers seek to curb cannabis useAs New Jersey nears the end of its first month of legal recreational marijuana sales, lawmakers have introduced a series of bills aimed at restricting what types of workers can use cannabis off the job.
- Missouri House votes to require disclosure of medical cannabis ownership recordsThe Missouri House voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to require state regulators to disclose ownership information for businesses granted medical marijuana licenses that the state has withheld from public view.