By Staff Reports
September 26, 2019
In a
major victory for the cannabis industry, the House of Representatives voted to
allow federally chartered banks to do business with cannabis companies.
Practically,
this means that cannabis dispensaries won’t have to operate entirely in cash,
as it is now legal for them to deposit money into bank accounts. The bill was
the first ever stand-alone cannabis bill, billed the Secure and Faire
Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act.
It was
passed on a bipartisan basis, though a majority of Republicans voted against
it. The bill now faces the Senate and has 33 cosponsors, which means it only
needs 18 more supporters in the Senate to pass, unless it is vetoed by
President Trump.
The
Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America supports the bill, which
would protect agents and brokers who write insurance coverage for legitimate
cannabis-related businesses from criminal prosecution and civil liability. The
bill passed the House with a vote of 321-103.
“The
Big ‘I’ applauds the House of Representatives for passing the SAFE Banking Act
and taking the steps necessary to protect agents and brokers,” said Charles
Symington, Big “I" senior vice president of external, industry &
government affairs. “The Big “I” especially wants to thank Rep. Ed Perlmutter
(D-Colorado) and Rep. Steve Stivers (R-Ohio) for their leadership on this
important legislation.”
Under
current federal law, the cultivation, possession and distribution of marijuana
is illegal, except for some limited research purposes. However, at the state
level, all but a handful states permit medical marijuana use in some capacity,
and several states now allow the sale of marijuana for recreational purposes.
“Now
that the legislation has passed the House, the Big ‘I’ encourages the Senate to
take action on cannabis legislation,” said Joseph Cortina, Big “I” director of
federal government affairs. “Specifically, we encourage Chairman Mike Crapo
(R-Idaho) and Ranking Member Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) to consider the SAFE
Banking Act.”
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