The Senate Banking Committee scheduled a hearing to examine legislation to address the legal prohibitions preventing banks from providing financial services to cannabis related businesses. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) will lead the full committee hearing, scheduled for Tuesday, July 23, 2019. Chairman Crapo and Ranking Member Brown will hear from two panels of witnesses. The first panel will feature Senators Cory Gardner (R-Colorado) and Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), the original sponsors for the Senate version of the SAFE Banking Act, a legislative proposal that would lift the prohibition on cannabis banking. The second panel includes representatives from the cannabis and financial services industry who are expected to testify on the hazards and complications of denying the cannabis industry access to fundamental banking activities.
The hearing is a significant reversal from Chairman Crapo who was previously adamant the cannabis banking prohibition be resolved through federal legalization. Chairman Crapo has not come out in favor of cannabis banking legislation but holding a hearing is a significant step forward for the SAFE Banking Act.