A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has refiled legislation (Senate Bill 4942) to protect banks, credit unions and other financial institutions that provide services to state-legal marijuana businesses.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act, commonly known as the SAFE Banking Act, was filed by U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and is cosponsored by Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Steve Daines (R-MT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
The measure is designed to address one of the marijuana industry’s most persistent challenges: limited access to traditional financial services due to the ongoing conflict between state legalization laws and federal prohibition. Although dozens of states have legalized marijuana for medical or recreational use, many banks remain reluctant to work with licensed businesses because marijuana remains federally illegal.
Under the proposal, federal banking regulators would be barred from punishing financial institutions solely for working with legitimate marijuana businesses operating in compliance with state law. The bill would also protect ancillary businesses that provide goods or services to the industry, such as landlords, accountants, attorneys and security companies.
Supporters say the legislation would improve public safety by reducing the industry’s reliance on cash, which can make marijuana businesses targets for robbery and complicate payroll, tax payments and other basic operations. The bill would not legalize marijuana federally or require any state to allow marijuana sales.
The filing comes just days before a Drug Enforcement Administration administrative hearing is set to begin on the Trump administration’s move to reschedule marijuana under federal law. That process is scheduled to start June 29 and focuses on the broader federal classification of marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.
While moving marijuana to Schedule III could have significant consequences for medical research and federal tax policy, supporters of the SAFE Banking Act have emphasized that rescheduling alone would not resolve the banking issue for many state-legal marijuana businesses, particularly those operating in the adult-use market.
The SAFE Banking Act has been introduced in multiple prior sessions of Congress and has drawn bipartisan support over the years, including from lawmakers who do not necessarily support broader marijuana legalization. Previous versions have passed the U.S. House several times, but the proposal has never received final approval in the Senate.
