To create protections for financial institutions that provide financial services to State-sanctioned marijuana businesses and service providers for such businesses, and for other purposes.
Analysis under review: This bill has generated analysis that may be too generic or incomplete. Clause-level evidence remains available below.
Summary
What This Bill Does
This bill creates federal legal protections for banks, credit unions, insurers, and other financial institutions that provide services to state-legal marijuana businesses and hemp businesses. It prohibits federal regulators from penalizing financial institutions solely for serving cannabis businesses that comply with state law.
Who Benefits and How
State-legal cannabis businesses gain access to banking services, eliminating cash-only operations and enabling normal business functions. Banks and credit unions can serve cannabis clients without fear of losing deposit insurance or facing federal penalties. Insurers can provide coverage to cannabis businesses. Home buyers employed in the cannabis industry can qualify for federally-backed mortgages based on cannabis-related income. Hemp businesses also receive banking access protections.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Federal banking regulators must update guidance and examination procedures within 180 days. Financial institutions must continue filing suspicious activity reports on cannabis businesses per Treasury guidance. The GAO must conduct studies on diversity in cannabis business access and effectiveness of suspicious transaction reporting.
Key Provisions
- Creates safe harbor preventing regulators from penalizing banks for serving state-legal cannabis businesses
- Protects banks, insurers, and Federal Home Loan Banks from federal prosecution and asset forfeiture
- Allows cannabis proceeds to not be considered proceeds of unlawful activity for money laundering purposes
- Requires cannabis business income to be treated as legal income for federally-backed mortgage qualification
- Extends protections to hemp businesses under the 2018 Farm Bill
- Requires annual diversity reports on minority, veteran, and women-owned cannabis business access
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Provides legal safe harbor for depository institutions, insurers, and federal agencies to provide financial services to state-legal cannabis businesses and hemp businesses without federal prosecution, regulatory penalty, or forfeiture
Key Policy Areas
Banking and Finance, Cannabis Policy, Agriculture, Housing
Primary Purpose
Provides legal safe harbor for depository institutions, insurers, and federal agencies to provide financial services to state-legal cannabis businesses and hemp businesses without federal prosecution, regulatory penalty, or forfeiture
Policy Domains
Hemp Applicability and Rules (Sections 14-15)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Hemp cultivators and processors
- Hemp retailers
- CBD product manufacturers
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Definitions (Section 2)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- State-legal cannabis businesses
- Hemp businesses
- Financial institutions
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Safe Harbors and Protections (Sections 3-5)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Banks and credit unions
- Insurers
- Federal Home Loan Banks
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
- State-legal cannabis businesses
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal banking regulators
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Studies and Reports (Sections 11-13)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Minority-owned cannabis businesses
- Veteran-owned cannabis businesses
- Women-owned cannabis businesses
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal banking regulators
- GAO
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Mortgage Lending (Section 9)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Cannabis industry employees seeking mortgages
- Mortgage lenders
- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- FHA
- VA
- USDA
- GSEs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Reporting and Guidance (Sections 6-8)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Financial institutions serving cannabis businesses
- Hemp businesses
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Treasury Department/FinCEN
- Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Account Termination Requirements (Section 10)
Identified Gains
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Cannabis businesses at risk of de-banking
- Hemp businesses
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Identified Costs
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation- Federal banking regulators
- Depository institutions
Contextual inference, no direct clause citation
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
IntroducedMr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Daines, Ms. Rosen, Mr. Cassidy, …
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal banking regulators
Positive-direction: Federal Home Loan Banks, Federal law enforcement, Law enforcement agencies
Negative-direction: Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council, Federal banking regulators, GAO, Treasury Department/FinCEN, VA home loan program
Banks and credit unions, Banks considering serving cannabis businesses, Banks with cannabis business accounts
Positive-direction: Banks and credit unions, Banks considering serving cannabis businesses, Depository institutions and community development financial institutions, FHA-insured mortgage lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, Financial institutions choosing not to serve cannabis, Financial institutions filing SARs on cannabis businesses, Financial institutions serving cannabis businesses, Minority depository institutions, Mortgage lenders serving cannabis industry employees
Negative-direction: Banks with cannabis business accounts
CBD retailers, Cannabis businesses facing de-banking, Cannabis businesses with cash deposits
Cannabis ancillary service providers, Cannabis service providers (landlords, lawyers, etc.), Hemp service providers
Hemp cultivators and processors, Hemp cultivators, processors, and retailers
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "federal_banking_regulator"
- → Federal banking regulators including Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, NCUA, CFPB, Treasury
- "the_secretary"
- → Secretary of the Treasury
- "comptroller_general"
- → Comptroller General of the United States (GAO)
Key Definitions
Terms defined in this bill
A business that sells goods or services to a State-sanctioned marijuana business or provides business services relating to marijuana, but does not directly handle marijuana products
Broadly includes all financial products, payment processing, money transmission, armored car services, and insurance
Banks, federal and state credit unions, and minority depository institutions
A business that engages in hemp activities in conformity with the 2018 Farm Bill, state law, and USDA regulations
A manufacturer, producer, or person that engages in marijuana-related activities pursuant to state, tribal, or local law and participates in any business involving handling marijuana or marijuana products
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology