Senator Murray Applauds Committee Passage of Bipartisan SAFER Banking Act, Pushes to Get Cannabis Banking Bill Across the Finish Line

Seattle Times: Cannabis retail stores in Washington state reported at least 100 armed robberies last year

ICYMI: Murray, Merkley, Colleagues Reintroduce Bipartisan SAFE Banking Act to Improve Community Safety and Banking Access for Legal Cannabis Businesses – MORE HERE

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, applauded the markup of the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act (SAFER) Banking Act of 2023 by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee. The SAFER Banking Act—of which Senator Murray is a cosponsor—makes small tweaks to the bipartisanSAFE Banking Act, which Senator Murray has long championed, to ensure that legal cannabis businesses in Washington state and across the country have access to the critical banking and financial services they have long been denied and are no longer forced to operate entirely in cash.

Right now, most state-legal medicinal or recreational cannabis businesses are denied access to traditional and secure banking systems and financial services because banks fear they could be prosecuted given federal restrictions on cannabis. This means that legal cannabis businesses in states like Washington are forced to operate as cash-only businesses, which opens the door to potential tax evasion and increases the likelihood of criminal activity—last year, cannabis retail stores in Washington state reported at least 100 armed robberies, according to the Seattle Times.

“It’s ridiculous that legal cannabis businesses in Washington state are forced to operate entirely in cash—and it puts the safety of their employees and our neighborhoods at risk,” said Senator Murray. “That’s why I’ve been working for years on SAFE Banking legislation and I’m thrilled to see bipartisan momentum behind this bill, which has now advanced further than ever in the U.S. Senate. The SAFER Banking Act is an important first step in doing the right thing for small business owners and the communities they operate in—and I’m going to keep pushing to get it across the finish line. We can’t stop there, though—we need to work towards broader cannabis policy reforms that address the long history of racial injustice and criminalization that have harmed so many communities across the country.”

The SAFER Banking Act would ensure sanctioned cannabis and hemp businesses have access to bank accounts, insurance, and other essential financial services. The legislation would prevent federal banking regulators from: 

• Prohibiting, penalizing or discouraging a bank from providing financial services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated cannabis business, or an associated business (such as a lawyer or landlord providing services to a legal cannabis business); 
• Terminating or limiting a bank’s federal deposit insurance primarily because the bank is providing services to a state-sanctioned cannabis business or associated business; 
• Recommending or incentivizing a bank to halt or downgrade providing any kind of banking services to these businesses; or 
• Taking any action on a loan to an owner or operator of a cannabis-related business. 

The legislation would also create a safe harbor from criminal prosecution and liability and asset forfeiture for banks and their officers and employees who provide financial services to legitimate, state-sanctioned cannabis businesses—while maintaining banks’ right to choose not to offer those services. The bill would also provide protections for hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD) related businesses. 

The SAFER Banking Act is currently endorsed by: American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI), American Land Title Association (ALTA), American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA), The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB), Credit Union National Association, Electronic Transactions Association, Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA), International Brotherhood of Teamsters, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC), National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA), National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), Reinsurance Association of America (RAA), National Association of Counties (NACo), National League of Cities (NLC), and the United Food and Commercial Workers of America (UFCW). 

More information on the SAFER Banking Act of 2023 is available here.

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