WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a member of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, announced her co-sponsorship of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2021. The bipartisan bill would allow access to banking services for licensed cannabis businesses operating in states, like Nevada, that have legalized the sale of marijuana.
“A lack of access to banking services has hindered our state’s legally-operating marijuana businesses, as well as increased the risk to public safety in our communities,” said Senator Rosen. “Federal law restricts banks from providing its services to marijuana businesses, forcing most of these businesses to operate only in cash and opening the door to increased crimes such as theft and robbery. I’m proud to co-sponsor this bipartisan legislation, which will provide Nevada’s marijuana businesses with the same access to financial institutions as any other legal business. I will continue working to support Nevada’s industries with forward-thinking solutions to the issues that impact them.”
BACKGROUND: Forty-seven states, four U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia – representing 97.7 % of the U.S. population – have legalized some form of recreational or medical marijuana, including CBD. Yet current federal law restricts licensed marijuana businesses, operating legally under state law, from accessing banking services and products, such as depository and checking accounts, resulting in businesses operating in all cash.
The SAFE Banking Act of 2021 is supported by:
• American Bankers Association (ABA)
• American Council of Independent Laboratories (ACIL)
• American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI)
• American Financial Services Association (AFSA)
• American Land Title Association (ALTA)
• American Property Casualty Insurance Association (APCIA)
• California and Nevada Credit Union Leagues (CCUL)
• Credit Union National Association (CUNA)
• Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers (CIAB)
• Electronic Transactions Association (ETA)
• Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA)
• Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (IIABA)
• Law Enforcement Action Partnership (LEAP)
• National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC)
• National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA)
• National Association of Realtors (NAR)
• National Cannabis Roundtable (NCR)
• National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA)
• National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML)
• Minority Cannabis Business Association (MCBA)
• Policy Center for Public Health & Safety
• Reinsurance Association of America (RAA)
• The Real Estate Roundtable
• United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW)
• U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC)
• U.S. Hemp Roundtable
• Wholesale & Specialty Insurance Association (WSIA)
Senator Rosen co-sponsored near-identical legislation last Congress.
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