A Montana resolution urging the federal government to pass the SAFER Banking Act into law was given approval today by the House Business and Labor Committee.
(Photo credit: GETTY Images).
The committee voted 12 to 8 to advance Senate Joint Resolution 5. The resolution was given approval by the full Senate last month by a vote of 35 to 14.
The resolution calls on the federal government to pass the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act into law. The proposal would allow banks and other financial institutions such as credit unions to provide financial services to state-legal marijuana businesses, including debit card services and access to loans. The legislation would also enable marijuana businesses to claim standard IRS tax deductions.
The SAFER Banking Act was given approval with bipartisan support through the Senate Banking Committee in September 2023, but it never received a vote by the full Senate despite then-Senate Leader Chuck Schumer promising on multiple occasions that a vote would happen.
A House version of the bill, known as the SAFE Banking Act, has been approved multiple times by the full House of Representatives.
Notably both of Montana’s representatives in the U.S. Senate, Steve Daines and Jon Tester, are both co-sponsors of the SAFER Banking Act.
For the full text of SJR 5, click here. If the resolution is passed by the House, it will be enacted into law, given it does not require gubernatorial approval.
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