Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (D) has reaffirmed that he is committed to a rapid advancement of a revised marijuana bank bill. He also says he plans to push for legislation on cannabis expungements, and gun rights to medical marijuana patients.
Schumer, who is the Senate Banking Committee’s Chair, released an exclusive statement to Marijuana Moment one week before it votes to approve the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act (SAFER), that was officially filed on Wednesday. The statement praised the bipartisan agreement and outlined plans to expand the bill.
He said that the federal government had been punishing marijuana users and businesses for too long, even when it was actively harming our country. “This ‘war on drugs’ has turned into a war on people and communities–specifically people and communities of color–and a war on business.”
He said: “This agreement gives cannabis businesses who have operated traditionally in cash the chance to accept credit or debit cards. This allows them to grow, pay their staff, protect their clients, and ensure public security.”
The majority leader said he would bring forward the SAFER Banking Act “with due urgency,” and he was “committed” to include the Harnessing Opportunities By Pursuing Expungement Act and Gun Rights and Marijuana Act (GRAM) Act into the final legislation.
The HOPE Act was designed to encourage states and local governments in their jurisdictions to expunge marijuana records. Schumer had previously promised to amend the Banking Bill with criminal justice reform. He called it a “critical addition”. Sen. Steve Daines, R-MT, the GOP sponsor of SAFER Banking Act said he was open to the addition. However, he cautioned that the underlying legislation should not be expanded significantly.
The GRAM Act would, on the other hand, allow medical cannabis users to buy and possess firearms, which they are currently prohibited by a law that has been challenged before a number federal courts in the last year.
Schumer stated, “I have long argued for the expungement records for cannabis offenses. With SAFER Banking moving forward in such a strong and bipartisan manner, now is the right time to do it.” “I am looking forward to the bill passing out of the committee so that we can vote on it in the Senate.”
He’s listed as a co-sponsor of the revised banking bill. This is notable, given that he a href=”https://www.marijuanamoment.net/cory-booker-vows to block marijuana-banking until the Senate passes comprehensive legalization/” rel=”noopener” target=”_blank”>previously vowed to “lay myself down” in order to prevent the incremental reform/a> in 2021 Booker is listed as co-sponsor on the revised banking legislation. This is noteworthy, given that he had previously pledged to “lay down” in order to block the incremental reform by 2021 until Congress moved to comprehensively legalize cannabis and address the harms caused by cannabis criminalization.
Booker stated that he co-sponsored the SAFER Banking Act after Schumer assured him that the HOPE Act would be incorporated in this bill on the Senate floor. The HOPE Act will provide grants to states to help them expunge their cannabis records.
This bill will bring cannabis banking into the light and allow thousands of small businesses to access the banking system. The addition of HOPE will be a necessary step towards restorative justice,” said the senator.
“For far too long, the laws that govern marijuana have made it difficult for entrepreneurs and small business owners from all backgrounds and income levels to compete on an equal footing with large corporations and wealthy individuals. For too long, marijuana prohibition has targeted disproportionately low-income, minorities, and disadvantaged groups. We finally have a bill which is taking us in the direction we need to go and making significant strides towards justice.”
The newly released bill shows what compromises the senators made in recent weeks. The majority of the new provisions can be found in Section 10, a part of the reform which Republicans strongly favor and some Democrats oppose because they fear it will undermine banking regulations.
Below are some key changes to the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Banking Act):
- The SAFER Banking Act, Section 7, removes the earlier language that prevented federal regulators from “discourage” financial institutions to work with state-legal cannabis businesses.
- The bill’s Section 10 now explains that regulators need to have a valid reason before they can request or require the closure of a bank account for any business.
- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was given an extra year to prepare guidance for financial institutions that serve state-licensed cannabis businesses.
- This standard now applies to “covered” mortgages. One example of a covered mortgage would be one “acquired, purchased or pledged by a Federal Home Loan Bank as collateral for an Advance from a Federal Home Loan Bank.”
- The section 10 was expanded to include, for instance, a “sense” of Congress language that stipulates that personal and political beliefs should not affect the decision-making of financial regulators.
- The legislation would newly require federal banking regulators to work with state banking supervisors and the secretaries of commerce and treasury and, within two years of enactment, form rules or guidance to increase access to deposit accounts for businesses and customers and to enable banks and credit unions to more effectively maintain customer relationships–especially for those in rural, low-and moderate-income areas, Tribal communities and unbanked businesses and consumers.
- The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is now required to carry out a survey and produce a report every two years to identify the barriers that small and medium-sized business face in accessing their deposit accounts.
- The bill was also revised so that tribal communities are explicitly mentioned in Section 11. This section requires federal regulators submit a report on access to banking to Congress for historically underbanked community. The report now includes tribes alongside minorities, veterans and women, as well as small state-sanctioned marijuana businesses. This was not the case when the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE Banking Act) was introduced.
- The bill still requires reports to be submitted on small, minority, veteran and women-owned business. However, “diversity” and “inclusion” have been removed from section titles.
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The proposed revisions appear to satisfy both sides, as Section 10 is kept “intact” (as Banking Committee member Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-ND, said this week), but with new provisions that promote equity in financial system.
Jack Reed, a senator from Rhode Island who is also a member of the Banking Committee, and has previously expressed concern about Section 10 in the Banking Act, said that the Senate had “discussed extensively” the language.
He said, “I believe we’ve solved most of the issues that we had. I hope we did so we can pass it through the committee with a solid vote.”
Schumer, along with others, have discussed plans to amend legislation currently on the floor in order to adopt “critical” criminal justice provisions, such as expungements of prior marijuana convictions. They also called for a broader effort to repair harms caused by the drug war to be a “moral responsibility” for Congress.
Daines’ spokesperson told Marijuana Moment that the senator is “open” about including the additional reform provision. However, he warned Democrats not to expand the bill’s scope significantly in a manner that would jeopardize GOP backing. Insiders claim that the bill, in its current form and as a stand-alone measure, has the Republican support needed to pass the Senate.
A coalition of 35 cannabis associations, drug policy reform organizations and a leading national labor union on Tuesday called for Congress to address “the humanitarian toll” of robberies that target cash-intensive marijuana businesses, by passing the SAFE Banking Act this year.
In July, the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, along with other trade groups representing marijuana business in 16 states and Washington, D.C., sent a letter to Brown and Banking Committee ranking member Tim Scott (R-SC), imploring them to pass the cannabis banking legislation “without further delay.”
The American Bankers Association (ABA), too, reiterated its call for passage. All 50 state chapters of the ABA did the same. Insurance and union organizations also wrote to Congress.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat, said separately in a letter sent to President Joe Biden recently that he should support the congressional push for marijuana bank reform at the same time the Drug Enforcement Administration begins its review of the cannabis schedule after receiving a rescheduling recommendations from the top federal agency.
Rhode Island Marijuana Advocates Want Regulators to Close Loopholes and Protect Workers
The first time Marijuana moment published the post Schumer commits to bring newly revised Marijuana banking bill with cannabis Expungements and gun rights amendments.
