SAFE Banking Act Introduced in House of Representatives

Author Michelle Rutter at thecannabisindustry.org reports on March 13th that last week the SAFE Banking Act was introduced in the House of Representatives. Known in long form as the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act it was introduced by Representatives Ed Perimutter (D-CO) and Danny Hck (D-WA) with 106 cosponsors representing a quarter of the entire House.

Michelle summarizes that the HR 1595 would prevent federal banking regulators from punishing banks for “working with cannabis related businesses that are obeying state laws or halting their services, taking action on loans made to those businesses, or limiting a depository institution’s access to the Deposit Insurance Fund.”

In addition, the bill would also protect ancillary businesses that work with the cannabis industry from being charged with money laundering and other financial crimes and would require the Financial Institution Examination Council to develop “guidance to help credit unions and banks understand how to lawfully service cannabis businesses.”

This is a huge step to protecting cannabis businesses, their service providers (including but not limited to financial institutions) and solve the huge issue of cannabis businesses having to operate using large sums of cash.

We recommend reading the full article to get up to speed and learn how you might help get this voted into law.