 In addition to the recently refiled PREPARE Act Bill, and the upcoming legalization bill promised by Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, there have been several other cannabis measures in the works on Capitol Hill. These are tending to focus on smaller, incremental measures for cannabis, such as banking and expungement. This is because with a Republican controlled Congress, the hopes for broad federal legalization passing during this congressional session are slim, so the emphasis is being put on the other related measures. This past week, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic Representative from New York, has refiled the HOPE Act bill, which stands for Harnessing Opportunities by Pursuing Expungement, which is designed to incentivize state and local cannabis expungements through federally funded grants. The Democratic Senator from Oregon, Earl Blumenauer filed a bill last week which hopes to allow cannabis businesses to take federal tax deductions, which they are currently unable to do. Republican Congressional Representative from Florida, Brian Mast, has introduced legislation to protect the Second Amendment right to bear arms for cannabis users, as they are currently banned from doing now. Also this past week, Senate and House lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle have joined together to refile the SAFE Banking Act in each of their respective chambers. SAFE Banking stands for Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act. It’s purpose is to protect banks that work with state-legal cannabis businesses from being penalized by federal regulators, this would thus open up the availability of traditional banking to the cannabis industry which is currently forced to be based in cash, due to the lack of available banking options for them. This new version of the SAFE Banking Act differs from last years “SAFE Banking Plus” package which included expungements, and failed to get passed. And this new version also differs from prior versions by more clarifications of who safe harbor banking is extended to, including more financial institutions. It will also give cannabis industry workers access to federally backed mortgages. Many of the bill supporters have emphasized the need for SAFE Banking, by underscoring the safety element that applies to more than just the cannabis industry. One sponsor, Democratic Senator from Oregon Jeff Merkley said, “Forcing legal businesses to operate in all-cash is dangerous for our communities; it’s an open invitation to robbery, money laundering, and organized crime—and it’s way past time to fix it.” Senator Blumenauer added that this bill “will save lives and livelihoods.” Blumenauer also pointed out that previous versions have already passed the House seven different times, with difficulty only being found in the Senate. Senator Merkley and another sponsor, Republican Senator from Montana Steve Daines, released a joint statement on Wednesday saying this newly refiled bill, “will represent the largest-ever cannabis reform legislation with bipartisan support in Congress,” and added, “We are committed to making 2023 the year a bill is signed into law that ensures all legal cannabis businesses have access to the financial services they need.” There are currently 40 sponsors and supporters of the bill, with 35 of them being Democrats, and 5 being Republicans. Senators: Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT), along with Congressional Representatives: Dave Joyce (R-OH), Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Dan Sullivan (D-AK), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Rand Paul (R-KY), Angus King (I-ME), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Peter Welch (D-VT), Mark Kelly (D-AZ), Michael Bennet (D-CO), Patty Murray (D-WA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Chris Coons (D-DE), Jon Tester (D-MT), Mark Warner (D-VA), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Gary Peters (D-MI) and Chris Murphy (D-CT). The House version has eight additional cosponsors, Representatives: Warren Davidson (R-OH), Jim Himes (D-CT), Brian Mast (R-FL), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), Lori Chavez-DeRemer (R-OR) and Lou Correa (D-CA). In other cannabis banking news, the Senate Banking Committee Chairman, Democratic Senator from Ohio, Sherrod Brown, has said that his committee will also be working on cannabis banking reform on their own, as well. Despite the high number of these cannabis bills being introduced and supported, and the vast majority of Americans supporting some form of cannabis legislation, the Senate’s Republican majority still seem to insist on blocking any form of cannabis legislation while they remain in control. On Wednesday this week, Senate Republicans blocked the advancement of a bipartisan bill which promoted researching the viability of cannabis as a medical aid for military veterans with certain conditions, including PTSD.
Comments are closed.
|
RSS Feed