On Thursday, bipartisan members of Congress re-filed a marijuana bill. This one proposes to give insurance companies who work with cannabis businesses that are legal in their state a safe haven.
Nydia Velazquez, D-NY and Warren Davidson, R-OH are the sponsors of the Clarifying Law around Insurance of Marijuana Act (CLAIM). The measure was introduced for the third time in a line during the current Congress.
It would prevent federal regulators from penalizing insurers, agents and brokers for providing insurance to state-licensed cannabis companies. The bill was submitted just one day after House of Representatives and Senate lawmakers introduced a similar bill that would protect banks who work with the marijuana industry.
In a press statement, Velazquez stated that insurance companies are sometimes reluctant to cover cannabis-based businesses due to differences between federal and state law.
Cannabis businesses should have the same insurance coverage as other legitimate enterprises.
Today, I intro’d the CLAIM Act with @WarrenDavidson to ensure legal cannabis entrepreneurs can get the insurance they need to protect their livelihoods.https://t.co/RwvOE5McMD
— Rep. Nydia Velazquez (@NydiaVelazquez) April 27, 2023
The congresswoman stated that “These promising businesses are extremely vulnerable to fires and natural disasters, which could destroy everything they have worked so hard to build.” This bill will give entrepreneurs in the legal cannabis industry the ability to get the insurance that they need to protect themselves.
Davidson stated that “insurance firms must be allowed to participate in order for the market to function properly. They play a crucial role for the growth of small businesses.”
He said that the CLAIM Act provides a needed corrective measure by allowing people to insure risks without regulators blocking otherwise legal markets.
The CLAIM act is the same as the version filed in the last Congress. It has been sponsored on the Senate side by Sen. Bob Menendez, D-NJ however it has not yet been refiled for this year.
Currently, cannabis companies are limited in their ability get property, casualty, and title insurance. This bill prohibits penalizing insurance companies for covering these businesses. It also bars insurers from terminating policies or limiting them due to their nature.
The legislation also requires that the Government Accountability Office study and release a report about “barriers for entry into the marketplace, including the licensing process and the access of financial services to potential and existing cannabis-related legitimate business owned by women and minorities.”
The act also protects employees of insurance companies, stating that they cannot be held responsible just because they are employed by a cannabis firm.
The supporters of the bill have argued providing insurance to these companies would reduce safety risks, and prevent them from being denied financing by banks, as can happen when they lack insurance.
The reintroduction coincides, as it did in the previous session, with the filing by the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act (SAFE), which protects banks that provide financial service to the cannabis industry.
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To pass any reform this session, lawmakers are expected to focus their efforts on smaller marijuana measures, such as the banking bill, rather than a broader legalization centered around justice.
The Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, said last week that he is “disappointed,” that the so-called SAFE Plus package, which included marijuana banking legislation and expungements, did not advance. He said that lawmakers will “continue to work in a bipartisan manner” in order to accomplish the task.
He said: “Until we achieve our goal, I will be by your side and do everything in my power to bring federal cannabis policy up to date.” We will need you to continue to reach out to both parties in both chambers, especially the Republicans, so that we can progress on cannabis reform.
In the first months of the new Congress, the majority leader has met with Democratic members and Republican members to discuss marijuana reform proposals which might be able to garner bipartisan support this year.
Booker acknowledged that the failure to pass a banking solution for the cannabis industry would “literally” mean that hundreds of businesses will go out of business.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, who filed a last-week bill to allow marijuana businesses to claim federal tax deductions, stated at a press briefing recently that he believes it is important that advocates align with lawmakers on any incremental proposals that will end the drug-war, cautioning against an “all or nothing” mentality.
Other cannabis bills have been filed in the week before 4/20. However, lawmakers did not explicitly state that they were related to this unofficial holiday.
Rep. Brian Mast, R-FL, introduced legislation last Thursday to protect Second Amendment rights for people who use marijuana legally in states. This would allow them to buy and possess firearms, which they are currently prohibited to have under federal law.
Reps. Dave Joyce, R-OH and Alexandria Ocasio Cortez, D-NY have introduced a bill that would provide federal grants to encourage state and local marijuana exclusions.
In the beginning of this month, Hakeem Jeffreys (D-NY), the House Minority leader, and Joyce filed a bill to help prepare the federal government to legalize marijuana. The measure directed the Attorney General to create a commission that would study cannabis and make recommendations on how to regulate it in a similar way to alcohol.
Federal Law Enforcement Agency: State-Legal Marijuana Activities Will No Longer Disqualify Job Candidates
The article Insurance companies that work with marijuana businesses would be protected under a bipartisan congressional bill first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
