A resolution (Senate Joint Resolution 5) encouraging the federal government to approve the SAFER Banking Act has been scheduled for a public hearing in the Montana.
The hearing will take place on Thursday, January 16, at 8:30 a.m. in Room 422 of the Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs Committee. The resolution, if passed, would officially express Montana’s support for approving the SAFER Banking Act, which would allow banks and other financial institutions to provide financial services to state-legal marijuana businesses. This would allow state-licensed marijuana stores to move away from a dangerous cash-only model, while also giving them access to other traditional banking services such as loans and lines of credit.
Montana’s U.S. Senators, Steve Daines and Jon Tester, have both sponsored the SAFER Banking Act. The proposal was given bipartisan support by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs in September 2023, but failed to receive a vote of the full Senate.
A similar measure —the SAFE Banking Act— has been given approval by the full House of Representatives on multiple occasions.
SJ5 was filed by Senator Joshua Kassmier (R) on January 6. To be officially approved, it will need to pass the full Senate and full House of Representatives. Resolutions, unlike other legislation, does not require a governor’s signature and cannot be vetoed.
The full text of the resolution can be found by clicking here.
