A federal marijuana banking bill, which is sponsored by 32% of the entire US Senate, is now being actively supported by Bank of America, Mastercard and the National Rifle Association (NRA).
In September the SAFER Banking Act (S.2860) passed the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs with bipartisan support, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer vowing to put it to a vote of the full Senate “very soon”. The proposed law would provide legal protections for financial institutions, including banks and credit unions, that provide financial services to marijuana businesses that are legal under their state’s law.
Recently the CEO of the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell urging them to pass the bill into law, and a bipartisan group of 22 attorneys general sent a similar letter to congressional leaders late last month.
Now, a report by Cannabis Wire shows that some major players have entered the conversation. Bank of America, Mastercard and the NRA have reported lobbying disclosures for the third quarter of 2023 in favor of the SAFER Banking Act.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer says that provisions allowing for marijuana expungements and providing gun rights to medical marijuana patients will be included in the banking bill once it reaches the Senate floor.
The latter provision is likely the reason the NRA has decided to support the proposal. For Bank of America and Mastercard, the passage of S.2860 would allow them to work with the thousands of marijuana businesses throughout the US that are currently legal under their state’s law, but illegal under federal law.
Mastercard previously lobbied for a similar marijuana banking bill in 2019 and 2020, but stopped their lobbying efforts on the issue until Q3, 2023.
According to polling released last week, “by greater than a 2-to-1 margin (55% support vs 23% oppose) U.S. adults support Congress passing legislation that allows cannabis businesses to access banking services.”
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