Colorado Representative Ed Perlmutter, the original SAFE Banking Act sponsor, is giving the bill one last try before his retirement. Perlmutter announced last week that the SAFE Banking Act has been revived and added as an attachment to a domestic spending bill.
The bill to protect banks working with legal marijuana businesses has been in progress since 2013. Despite strong bipartisan support in each iteration, it has never been enacted. Now it is being revived as part of the America COMPETES (Creating Opportunities to Meaningfully Promote Excellence in Technology) Act of 2022.
This comes after the SAFE Banking Act was passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act and then later dropped from the 2022 US defense bill. The blow came after five attempts to pass the bill since 2013, with each attempt garnering bipartisan support and then stalling.
Whether the new iteration of the bill as part of the COMPETES Act will successfully pass cannabis banking protections remains unknown. The amendment must be approved by the House Rules Committee, which is scheduled to consider the Act on February 1st.
“I have filed #SAFEBanking as an amendment to #AmericaCOMPETES b/c cannabis-related businesses – big and small – are in desperate need of access to capital & the banking system in order to operate in an efficient, safe manner & compete in the growing global cannabis marketplace,” tweeted Perlmutter after the announcement.
