WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in the Senate have reached an agreement on a bill, which would make it easier for banks to offer services to legal marijuana businesses,
The question now for the bill, momentum for which has
"It appears that this new version has appeased some Republicans but not others," said Ian Katz, an analyst with Capital Alpha Partners. "I'm not sure that's helpful to the bill in the Republican-controlled House. My question is whether the leadership in the House will want to pursue a bill that seems to be divisive among the party's lawmakers. The leadership might just feel like it's not worth the bother and they'd rather not have to vote on it at all."
The agreement, and updated text, of the now titled SAFER Banking Act means that next week's markup, scheduled for Wednesday in the Senate Banking Committee, is expected to mostly go smoothly. It's rare for the head of a Senate Committee, especially Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, to schedule a markup unless he believes he has the votes to pass legislation.
Historically, that's been difficult for Democratic lawmakers to accomplish, with Republicans resisting attempts to turn the bill into a social justice package amid Democratic wishlist items like trying to include language that would expunge prior criminal convictions for cannabis possession. While Senate leaders have been somewhat successful in swaying some Republicans, including some in states where recreational marijuana is still illegal, attitudes remain skeptical in the House.
"I think it's kind of funny, calling it the SAFER Banking Act," said Ed Mills, managing director of Washington policy at Raymond James. "Democrats have been long looking for another R to add to this bill. The unfortunate thing is the only R they can add on is in the title."
This will only be the
The deal follows months of negotiations between Democratic and Republican lawmakers in the Senate, largely over Section 10 of the bill. That section deals with banks' ability to decline working with some controversial businesses, including firearm manufacturers or reproductive health providers.
Earlier this summer, Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., wanted to change the section, originally introduced in another bill by Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-Mo., around concerns about "Operation Choke Point," an Obama-era program that Republicans say unfairly targets certain politically disfavored industries. Reed had raised concerns that Section 10 was too broad, and wanted to narrow the provision to only include cannabis.
The updated bill doesn't entirely answer that question. Jaret Seiberg, managing director at TD Cowen, said that the issue "has been papered over with additional language preserving the power of regulators."
A section of the reintroduced legislation omits earlier language that would prevent federal regulators from discouraging financial institutions from working with marijuana businesses legal on a state level, although Section 10 says that regulators have to have a "valid" reason for asking or requiring banks to terminate bank accounts for any business.
Section 10 also now includes "sense of Congress" language, and says that personal and political beliefs shouldn't influence regulators' decision making.
"While Federal banking agencies have a duty to ensure that banks and credit unions are operating in a safe and sound manner, personal beliefs or political motivations used to restrict access to financial services for lawful businesses have no place at a Federal banking regulator," according to an official summary of the new legislation.
