On April 26th, California Senator Alex Padilla and Representatives Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) and Luis Correa (D-Santa Ana) joined with several other congressmembers to introduce the bipartisan, bicameral Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2023 (S. 1323/H.R. 2891). The bill would ensure that legal cannabis businesses would have access to critical banking and financial services.
In addition, the SAFE Banking Act of 2023 would prevent federal banking regulators from:
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Prohibiting, penalizing or discouraging a bank from providing financial services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated cannabis business, or an associated business (such as a lawyer or landlord providing services to a legal cannabis business);
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Terminating or limiting a bank’s federal deposit insurance primarily because the bank is providing services to a state-sanctioned cannabis business or associated business;
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Recommending or incentivizing a bank to halt or downgrade providing any kind of banking services to these businesses; or
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Taking any action on a loan to an owner or operator of a cannabis-related business.