A bipartisan group of U.S. senators and representatives has refiled the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, which would shield banks from federal penalties for serving state-legal cannabis businesses. The bill was filed days before a scheduled hearing on the Trump administration's move to reschedule marijuana under federal law.
In the Senate, the bill is led by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and cosponsored by Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and Steve Daines (R-MT). The House version is led by Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH), co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus, with cosponsors Reps. Jim Himes (D-CT), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Nydia Velázquez (D-NY), ranking member of the House Small Business Committee, Brian Mast (R-FL), Lou Correa (D-CA), Guy Reschenthaler (R-PA), and Dina Titus (D-NV). The Senate bill is numbered S.4942.
"Legal cannabis businesses operating in all-cash is dangerous for our communities—encouraging criminal activity like robberies, money laundering, and organized crime. It's past time we ensure legal businesses can access the financial services they need to help keep their employees, their businesses, and their communities safe," Merkley said. "The SAFE Banking Act is a common-sense, bipartisan solution, and I'll keep working with both Republicans and Democrats to advance this reform."
Earlier versions of the bill passed the House multiple times but were never enacted into law. The Senate Banking Committee approved a cannabis banking measure in 2023, but it died without a floor vote at the end of the 118th Congress.
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who chairs the Senate Banking Committee, said last month that the conflict between federal prohibition and expanding state legalization had created a "quandary" for cannabis businesses and banks. Though Scott had previously opposed the reform, he said the bill would "allow for the banking question to be solved by making it legal to bank it," and added: "What you don't want is to have a situation where you have these cash rooms where you have hundreds of thousands of dollars cash sitting in a location. Everyone knows you can't bank it and therefore the criminal activity is much higher in these places."
Beyond business banking access, the bill also includes provisions enabling cannabis industry workers to qualify for federally backed mortgage loans.
