Sherrod Brown, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee (D-OH), has said that his committee will vote to send a bipartisan marijuana bank bill on the floor in “the next two or three week”.
The committee conducted an initial hearing about the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act sponsored by Senators. Jeff Merkley, D-OR and Steve Daines, R-MT. The chairman has announced that the bill will be marked up this month, before it is brought to the floor.
In its current form, the measure protects banks, credit unions and depository institutions from being penalized for working with cannabis businesses licensed by state regulators.
Brown , who spoke to Bloomberg Law on the issue of executive compensation and the SAFE Banking Act, said that they would be looking at the markup for [a bill related to fentanyl], as well as the issue of executive compensation. They added that “we wanted all this done in the next couple or three weeks.”
Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer (DNY) and other have discussed plans to modify the legislation before the floor in order to implement “critical” criminal-justice provisions, such as expungements of prior marijuana convictions. They called broader efforts to repair the damages caused by the drug war “moral responsibility” on Congress.
At least one Democratic Senator on the panel has indicated that he wants to make changes to the major banking provisions.
Some consumer groups and Sen. Jack Reed, D-RI have expressed concern that section 10 of the bill may inadvertently limit the ability of the regulators to take action against those who abuse banking services.
Brown said he was concerned that banking representatives would try to “weaken” bank rules or “undermine” regulation.
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Some lawmakers, advocates, and stakeholders have suggested other changes they would like to see included in the cannabis bill, such as expanding protections for marijuana industry access to financial services including participation on major U.S. Stock Exchanges.
Other advocates have criticized the request, saying that it would be inappropriate to assist businesses at a time when efforts to legalize cannabis in Congress are stalled.
Last month, a major cannabis lobbying company apologized for sending a letter to the Senate Banking Committee’s leadership regarding the Banking Bill . The letter contained “inappropriate references about investments from China as a “misguided” attempt to push for amendements expanding the legislation.
Jacky Rosen, a Nevada senator, said recently that the SAFE Banking Act should be passed with an amendment to allow cannabis businesses access to federal Small Business Administration services (SBA).
The legislators will continue “to work in a bipartisan manner” in order to accomplish the task.
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.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-NJ, said that lawmakers are working to “resurrect the cannabis reform package. He acknowledged that the failure to advance an industry banking solution “literally” means hundreds of businesses will go out of business.
Rep. Earl Blumenauer, D-OR, who is the lead sponsor of the House’s version of the SAFE Banking Act said that it was important for advocates and legislators to align on any incremental proposal to end the war on drugs, cautioning against an “all or nothing” mentality.
The American Bankers Association also recently reiterated its call for passage the legislation. All 50 state chapters of the ABA did the same. Insurance and union organizations also wrote to Congress.
Rhode Island Legislators Approve Bill to Legalize Psilocybin and Prepare for Regulated Therapeutic Access
Photo by Mike Latimer.
The post Key Senate Committee to Vote on Marijuana Bank Bill in ‘Next two or three weeks,’ Chairman Says first appeared on Marijuana Moment.
