Montana’s Senate Business, Labor, and Economic Affairs Committee has scheduled a Friday public hearing for Senate Joint Resolution 5, which would urge the federal government to enact the SAFER Banking Act.
Originally scheduled for January 16 before being cancelled on January 15, the resolution was scheduled today for a public hearing at 8:30am in Room 422 on Friday, January 31.
The resolution calls on federal lawmakers to approve the SAFER Banking Act, a proposal to allow banks and other financial institutions to provide financial services to state-legal marijuana businesses. In addition to allowing marijuana businesses to move away from a dangerous cash-only model, it would given them access to other banking services like lines of credit, and the measure would allow these businesses to take standard IRS tax deductions.
A version of the SAFER Banking Act has passed the United States House of Representatives on multiple occasions, and in September 2023 it was approved with bipartisan support by the Senate Banking Committee. However, it has never received a vote from the full Senate.
Montana’s U.S. Senators, Steve Daines and Jon Tester, have both sponsored the SAFER Banking Act.
The full text of the resolution can be found by clicking here.
