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A (Mostly) Non-COVID-19 Legislative Update

by Michelle Rutter Friberg, NCIA’s Deputy Director of Government Relations

I don’t know about you, but it seems no matter where I look, everything is about COVID-19. And with good reason — many of us are still working from home, helping their families with distance learning, and overall dealing with the effects of the virus. That being said, this week I wanted to take a look at two pieces of cannabis legislation — non-COVID related — and update you on where things stand, since we’re already nearly halfway through 2020! 

The SAFE Banking Act

Last September, the SAFE Banking Act became the first piece of cannabis reform legislation to ever pass out of the United States House of Representatives by an astounding bipartisan vote of 321-103. The first iteration of the bill, named the Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act, was introduced to the 113th Congress back in 2013 and has made a long journey to get to this point in the legislative process.

Now that the SAFE Banking Act has passed the House, its journey has continued in the more conservative, Republican-controlled Senate. However, just before Christmas, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) issued a press release detailing his opposition to cannabis policy reform — including the SAFE Banking Act as it’s currently written. In the release, Chairman Crapo said, 

“I remain firmly opposed to efforts to legalize marijuana on the federal level, and I am opposed to legalization in the State of Idaho. I also do not support the SAFE Banking Act that passed in the House of Representatives. Significant concerns remain that the SAFE Banking Act does not address the high-level potency of marijuana, marketing tactics to children, lack of research on marijuana’s effects, and the need to prevent bad actors and cartels from using the banks to disguise ill-gotten cash to launder money into the financial system.” 

Even now with COVID-19, NCIA is virtually lobbying for the SAFE Banking Act, or some of its provisions, to be included in the next coronavirus relief package. Before COVID-19, the all-cash situation cannabis businesses face created an unnecessary public safety risk and undue safety burden on state and local tax and licensing authorities who must receive and process large cash payments. Now, as recent reports show that viruses can live on cash for up to 17 days, the public safety concerns of this cash-only system compound. The lack of access to financial institutions places industry workers, government employees, and the public-at-large at risk as banknotes circulate from consumers and patients to businesses to government. 

NCIA is continually working with Sen. Crapo, congressional and committee staff, coalition partners, and the bill’s cosponsors to ensure that all parties have the materials and information that they need in order to solve this pressing public safety– and now, public health– issue and pass the SAFE Banking Act into law!

The MORE Act

In November, by a vote of 24-10, the House Judiciary Committee approved the Marijuana Opportunity Reinvestment and Expungement (MORE) Act of 2019, or H.R. 3884. This bill was introduced by House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) and currently has 73 cosponsors. This was the first time that a congressional committee held a vote on – let alone approved – a comprehensive bill that would make cannabis legal. Perhaps even more significantly, this bill recognizes and works to address the disproportionate impact prohibition has had on marginalized communities and people of color while helping to increase access and opportunity in the legal cannabis industry.

The bill still has a long way to go, though. While the House Judiciary Committee has passed the legislation, there are still six more congressional committees with jurisdiction over the bill, including the Energy and Commerce, Agriculture, Education and Labor, Ways and Means, Natural Resources, and Oversight and Reform committees. In January, the House Small Business Committee waived its jurisdiction over the MORE Act.

While the MORE Act does not contain an explicit regulatory structure for cannabis after it is descheduled, Chairman Nadler said in a press conference the day before the markup vote that it was possible amendments could be added to the bill as it moves through the House. 

All that being said, it’s unclear what Congress’ schedule will look like for the rest of the year. The Senate returned to Washington yesterday, however, the House remains out of session as concerns about legislating in the age of COVID-19 remain. On top of that, 2020 is an election year, which complicates matters (and scheduling) even more. Regardless, I hope you can rest assured knowing that NCIA’s government relations team is working around the clock to advocate for the cannabis industry — whether that be banking reform, ending cannabis criminalization, or allowing for SBA relief. From D.C. to wherever you are, stay healthy! 

Committees And Coalitions: Legislative Update On The SAFE Banking Act 

by Michelle Rutter Friberg, Deputy Director of Government Relations

Photo By CannabisCamera.com

While you may not have seen or heard much news recently about the SAFE Banking Act (H.R. 2215, S. 1152), NCIA has been hard at work behind the scenes gathering intel, lobbying offices, and educating lawmakers and their staff. The bill is currently stalled in the Senate, however, there have been many discussions between lawmakers, committee staff, and advocates to encourage the legislation’s swift passage through the chamber. This week, let’s recap where the bill stands currently and what we’re doing to get the bill to the next step in the legislative process.

In September, the SAFE Banking Act (H.R. 2215) became the first piece of cannabis reform legislation to ever pass out of the United States House of Representatives by an astounding bipartisan vote of 321-103. The first iteration of the bill, named the Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act, was introduced to the 113th Congress back in 2013 and has made a long journey to get to this point in the legislative process.

After the SAFE Banking Act passed the House, its journey continued in the more conservative, Republican-controlled Senate. NCIA and other advocates. Then, just before Christmas, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Mike Crapo (R-ID) issued a press release detailing his opposition to cannabis policy reform — including the SAFE Banking Act as it’s currently written. In the release, Chairman Crapo said, 

“I remain firmly opposed to efforts to legalize marijuana on the federal level, and I am opposed to legalization in the State of Idaho. I also do not support the SAFE Banking Act that passed in the House of Representatives. Significant concerns remain that the SAFE Banking Act does not address the high level potency of marijuana, marketing tactics to children, lack of research on marijuana’s effects, and the need to prevent bad actors and cartels from using the banks to disguise ill-gotten cash to launder money into the financial system.” 

NCIA is continuing to work with Sen. Crapo, congressional and committee staff, coalition partners, and the bill’s cosponsors to ensure that all parties have the materials and information that they need in order to solve this pressing public safety issue and pass the SAFE Banking Act. 

But, that’s not all we’re working on for SAFE Banking! In addition, NCIA and a coalition of more than 30 national and state cannabis industry organizations sent a letter last month to Sen. Crapo urging him to advance the House-approved version of a bill aimed at addressing the state-legal cannabis industry’s lack of access to banking and other financial services. 

NCIA has collected over a thousand signatures from cannabis and ancillary businesses on a similar letter that is on its way to Sen. Crapo’s office this week. Lastly, but perhaps most importantly, NCIA is currently in the process of taking a deep-dive into Sen. Crapo’s concerns that he listed in December, and replying to them line-by-line to ensure that he and his staff have all of the relevant information necessary to pass this bill out of Committee and send it to the Senate Floor. 

We will continue working on your behalf in D.C., but here are a few ways you can help, too:

  • If your business is not yet a member of NCIA, the best way you can help this effort is by joining today so that our team in D.C. can start the year off stronger than ever in our efforts to move sensible banking reform through the Senate and to the president’s desk.

  • Make sure you’ve signed up to attend one of our upcoming Cannabis Caucuses, happening nationwide in March, where you can get updated on the latest with the SAFE Banking Act and all of our other congressional priorities.

  • Mark your calendar for May 19-21 for NCIA’s 10th Annual Cannabis Industry Lobby Days! Registration will be opening soon, so keep an eye out for more information on how you can join us in Washington, D.C. to make 2020 the biggest year yet for cannabis policy reform! 

While we still have work to do in the Senate, the NCIA team is excited about the opportunities ahead for 2020! Thank you to the nearly 2,000 member businesses of NCIA that help make this critical work possible.

 

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