Congressmen hopeful SAFE Banking will pass this year, Arkansas bankers still in support November 1, 2022 By Griffin Coop Some members of Congress are optimistic that cannabis reforms could pass during the lame duck session after the midterm elections, according to reports, and one major piece of banking legislation still has the backing of the Arkansas Bankers Association. Senators Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) and Steve Daines (R-Montana), Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colorado) and other industry leaders said there is interest in Congress to pass some form of banking reform, according to a report by MJBizDaily and another by The Hill. Booker summed up the status of the banking measures during a very interesting cannabis Q&A session with NJ.com. We were in active negotiations before this break, and in a meeting last Thursday with Schumer, I saw progress. It’s very likely that during the lame duck – before the new Congress — we’re going to see a really good bipartisan attempt to move it. Maybe it’s not the bill I wrote with Schumer and (Ron) Wyden, but an effort to tie in restorative justice and some fair banking provisions. I think it has a good chance, because our Republican allies also understand that if one of the houses of Congress shifts to Republican, it will be very hard to do anything on marijuana. We’ve got a good shot. I wouldn’t say it’s a great shot, but it’s on a good path. The SAFE Banking Act, which has passed the House of Representatives seven times, would allow banks to work with cannabis businesses without fear of punishment from the federal government. The bill is likely to be considered as SAFE Banking Plus, which, according to MJBizDaily, is believed to include the SAFE Banking language as well as some form of restorative justice measures as well as measures involving veterans. At least one cannabis advocacy group, the Drug Policy Alliance, has criticized the bill for not addressing equity concerns, according to a report in The Hill. “You have to be intentional about it,” said Maritza Perez, who leads federal affairs at the Drug Policy Alliance. “The bill does nothing for equity. It includes no language for equity. It would not level the playing field in any way. If anything, it would make a white-only male industry even whiter, maler and richer.” Lorrie Trogden, president and CEO of the Arkansas Bankers Association, said via email Monday that her organization still supports the SAFE Banking Act and that it will be even more urgent if Arkansans legalize adult-use marijuana at the polls next week. The Arkansas Bankers Association is still in support of the SAFE Banking Act because it seeks to harmonize federal and state law prohibiting federal regulators from taking punitive measures against depository institutions that provide banking services to legitimate cannabis-related businesses and ancillary businesses (e.g. electricians, plumbers, landlords, etc.) that serve them,” Trogden said. “In Arkansas, if Amendment 4 passes in November, it become even more important that Congress passes the SAFE Act to handle the new influx of cash.” Trogden said she has spoken to Arkansas’s congressmen and senators about supporting the bill. “We have spoken many times with our congressmen and senators about this issue,” she said. “The bill has already passed the House six times, it’s been held up in the Senate each time. Senator Boozman understands the need for clarification for banks so that this industry does not have to stay outside of the financial system. Senator Cotton has concerns, and his office is the best place to go for clarification about that.”
