{"id":30714,"date":"2022-04-13T20:38:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-13T20:38:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=30714"},"modified":"2022-04-13T20:38:00","modified_gmt":"2022-04-13T20:38:00","slug":"pennsylvania-senate-approves-marijuana-banking-bill-sending-it-to-the-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2022\/04\/13\/pennsylvania-senate-approves-marijuana-banking-bill-sending-it-to-the-house\/","title":{"rendered":"Pennsylvania Senate Approves Marijuana Banking Bill, Sending It To The House"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday approved a bill to safeguard banks and insurers against being penalized by state regulators for working with state-legal medical marijuana businesses.<\/p>\n

The bipartisan legislation from Sens. John DiSanto (R) and Sharif Street (D) moved through two committees in recent days<\/a> before being taken up on the floor and passing in a 46-3 vote. It now heads to the House.<\/p>\n

This effort is yet another example of how states are working to provide financial protections to institutions that are willing to service the cannabis market as Congress continues to stall on a federal fix.<\/p>\n

\u201cFederal prohibition has forced the cannabis industry to deal with cash, as proceeds may be considered a federal crime,\u201d DiSanto said on the floor on Wednesday, adding that the cash-intensive nature of the existing marketplace \u201cmakes dispensaries a target for armed robbery.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Today the Senate passed my bill to provide state-legal cannabis businesses better access to banking & insurance services. Banking this cash safely in PA will grow our economy & help lower costs for medical cannabis consumers. Read more at: https:\/\/t.co\/EvlOXhmVoZ<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/l8M7eka3oN<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Senator John DiSanto (@SenatorDiSanto) April 13, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cImproved access to financial services will reduce this public safety risk,\u201d he said. \u201cBanking this cash in Pennsylvania will grow our economy and lower costs for medical patients.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Pennsylvania bill\u00a0would not immunize banks and insurers from potential federal repercussions\u2014but it\u2019s an interim step meant to signal to the financial sector that they at least won\u2019t face penalties under state law.<\/p>\n

DiSanto and Street previously\u00a0circulated a co-sponsorship memo to colleagues<\/a> ahead of the banking bill\u2019s introduction that addressed the public safety problems posed to marijuana businesses without access to traditional financial services, forcing many to operate with large volumes of cash that make them targets of crime.<\/p>\n

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Marijuana Moment is already tracking more than 1,000 cannabis, psychedelics and drug policy bills<\/a> in state legislatures and Congress this year. Patreon supporters<\/a> pledging at least $25\/month get access to our interactive maps, charts and hearing calendar so they don\u2019t miss any developments.<\/strong>
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Street said on the floor on Wednesday that the legislation will \u201ctake the first step\u201d toward reform by \u201callowing and making it more feasible for people in the cannabis business to move away from being a cash business [and] to use our banking system.\u201d<\/p>\n

The move to provide state-level protections could add pressure on congressional lawmakers to enact a federal change, such as the bipartisan Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act that has\u00a0passed the House in some form six times<\/a>\u00a0at this point, only to stall in the Senate.<\/p>\n

One possible vehicle for that congressional policy change could be a large-scale manufacturing and innovation bill, where marijuana banking was included by the House and\u00a0may now be taken up by appointed negotiators<\/a>\u00a0in both chambers as they head to conference.<\/p>\n

The text of the Pennsylvania\u00a0legislation<\/a>\u00a0states that a \u201cfinancial institution authorized to engage in business in this Commonwealth may provide financial services to or for the benefit of a legitimate cannabis-related business and the business associates of a legitimate cannabis-related business.\u201d The same protections would also be codified for insurers.<\/p>\n

However, it specifies that the bill would not require banks or insurers to provide services to medical marijuana businesses.<\/p>\n

The legislation says that state government agencies cannot \u201cprohibit, penalize or otherwise discourage a financial institution or insurer from providing financial or insurance services to a legitimate cannabis-related business or the business associates of a legitimate cannabis-related business.\u201d<\/p>\n

It also says agencies cannot \u201crecommend, incentivize or encourage a financial institution or insurer\u201d to not provide services just because a business is associated with marijuana.<\/p>\n

Further, state agencies could \u201cnot take adverse or corrective supervisory action on a loan made to a legitimate cannabis-related business,\u201d the text says.<\/p>\n

These are the types of policies that advocates and stakeholders have been pushing Congress to enact at the federal level, but it remains to be seen when that might happen.<\/p>\n

Rodney Hood, a board member and former chairman of the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), has repeatedly\u00a0emphasized the urgent need for a federal resolution<\/a>\u00a0to the marijuana banking problem. He recently\u00a0applauded efforts by lawmakers in states like Pennsylvania<\/a>\u00a0to address the issue within their jurisdictions, but he said it\u2019s not enough.<\/p>\n

The federal financial regulator also noted that New York lawmakers are seeking to\u00a0provide tax breaks for the forthcoming marijuana market<\/a>,\u00a0sending a budget proposal to the governor<\/a>\u00a0over the weekend that would do just that.<\/p>\n

A New York senator is also seeking to give banks in the state a little peace of mind<\/a> about working with legal marijuana businesses, filing a bill on Tuesday that would allow regulators to disclose certain information about cannabis licensees to financial institutions.<\/p>\n

Washington State Treasurer Mike Pellicciotti (D) has also been especially vocal about the need for congressional reform, and he\u00a0wrote in a recent letter to his colleagues<\/a>\u00a0in other states that it\u2019s \u201cjust not safe to have this financial volume in cash.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pellicciotti made similar remarks at a\u00a0recent conference of the National Association of State Treasurers (NAST)<\/a>. And Colorado Treasurer Dave Young\u00a0echoed that sentiment in a recent interview<\/a>\u00a0with Marijuana Moment.<\/p>\n

The sponsor of the congressional SAFE Banking Act, Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO), told Marijuana Moment on Monday that he\u2019s hopeful that his reform legislation will be attached to the final America COMPETES Act that\u2019s heading to conference.<\/p>\n

The congressman pointed out that \u201cmore than two-thirds of the conferees [for the large-scale bill] have already voted for or cosponsored the SAFE Banking Act.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those conferees, longstanding marijuana reform champion Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), said in an op-ed for Marijuana Moment this week that\u00a0the banking reform measure as \u201ca huge step\u201d<\/a>\u00a0toward public safety and equity in the industry.<\/p>\n

Perlmutter also recently\u00a0spoke with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen<\/a>\u00a0about the marijuana banking issue during a hearing of the House Financial Services Committee. And the secretary said that it\u2019s \u201cextremely frustrating\u201d that Congress hasn\u2019t \u201cbeen able to resolve it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The sponsor has even made a point to talk about enacting the reform legislation\u00a0during committee hearings on ostensibly unrelated or wider-ranging legislation<\/a>, like at a recent House Rules Committee hearing.<\/p>\n

At a recent event hosted by the American Bankers Association (ABA), the congressman said that he will\u00a0\u201ccontinue to be a real pest, and persistent in getting this done\u201d<\/a>\u00a0before he retires from Congress at the end of the session.<\/p>\n

Despite recently\u00a0saying that he\u2019s \u201cconfident\u201d that the Senate will take up his bill<\/a>\u00a0this session, Perlmutter recognized that while he\u2019s supportive of revisions related to criminal justice reform, taxation, research and other issues, he knows that \u201cas we expand this thing, then we start losing votes, particularly Republican votes and we got enough votes in the Senate to do it\u201d as is.<\/p>\n

Ahead of last month\u2019s ABA event, the financial group released a poll that it commissioned showing that a strong majority of Americans\u00a0support freeing up banks to work with marijuana businesses<\/a>\u00a0without facing federal penalties.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the number of banks that report working with marijuana businesses\u00a0ticked up again near the end of 2021<\/a>, according to recently released federal data.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s not clear if the increase is related to congressional moves to pass a bipartisan cannabis banking reform bill, but the figures from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) signal that financial institutions continue to feel more comfortable servicing businesses in state-legal markets.<\/p>\n

Some Republicans are scratching their heads about how Democrats have so far failed to pass the modest banking reform with majorities in both chambers and control of the White House, too. For example, Rep. Rand Paul (R-KY)\u00a0criticized his Democratic colleagues over the issue<\/a>\u00a0in December.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile in Pennsylvania, another Republican senator recently announced that he will soon be introducing a bill to allow medical marijuana patients in the state\u00a0to buy cannabis edibles at dispensaries<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Sen. Dan Laughlin (R), who has also sponsored\u00a0legislation to legalize marijuana for adult use<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0allow patients to cultivate cannabis for personal use<\/a>, said that patients \u201cshould be able to buy edible medical cannabis that is safe, uniform and securely packaged and labeled, just as they do in 25 other states that have legalized medical cannabis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Separately, the Senate Law and Justice Committee\u00a0held the last of three scheduled hearings on marijuana legalization<\/a>\u00a0last month, taking testimony that\u2019s designed to help inform a forthcoming reform bill that the panel\u2019s chairman is actively drafting.<\/p>\n

Sen. Mike Regan (R), who chairs the panel,\u00a0circulated a cosponsorship memo last year<\/a>\u00a0along with Rep. Amen Brown (D) to build support for the reform, and these meetings are designed to give lawmakers added context into the best approach to legalization for the state.<\/p>\n

While reform bills have been introduced in past sessions and the policy change has the support of Gov. Tom Wolf (D), the series of hearings marked the first times a legislative panel had debated recreational legalization in the Republican-controlled Pennsylvania General Assembly.<\/p>\n

Pennsylvania lawmakers could also take up more modest marijuana reform proposals like a bill filed late last year to\u00a0expand the number of medical marijuana cultivators<\/a>\u00a0in the state, prioritizing small farms to break up what she characterized as a monopoly or large corporations that\u2019s created supply problems.<\/p>\n

Additionally, another pair of state lawmakers\u2014Reps. Jake Wheatley (D) and Dan Frankel (D)\u2014formally unveiled a legalization bill they\u2019re proposing<\/a>\u00a0last year.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia voters also\u00a0approved a referendum on marijuana legalization<\/a>\u00a0in November that adds a section to the city charter saying that \u201cthe citizens of Philadelphia call upon the Pennsylvania General Assembly and the Governor to pass legislation that will decriminalize, regulate, and tax the use, and sale to adults aged 21 years or older, of cannabis for non-medical purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wolf, the governor,\u00a0said last year that marijuana legalization was a priority<\/a>\u00a0as he negotiated the annual budget with lawmakers. However, his formal spending request didn\u2019t contain legislative language to actually accomplish the cannabis policy change.<\/p>\n

The governor, who signed\u00a0a medical cannabis expansion bill in June<\/a>, has repeatedly called for legalization and\u00a0pressured the Republican-controlled legislature to pursue the reform<\/a>\u00a0since\u00a0coming out in favor of the policy in 2019<\/a>. Shortly after he did that, a lawmaker filed a separate bill to\u00a0legalize marijuana through a state-run model<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D), who is running for U.S. Senate this year, said one of his key goals in his final year in office is to ensure that as many eligible people as possible submit\u00a0applications<\/a>\u00a0to have the courts\u00a0remove their cannabis records and restore opportunities<\/a>\u00a0to things like housing, student financial aid and employment through an expedited petition program.<\/p>\n

A survey from Franklin & Marshall College released last year found that\u00a060 percent of Pennsylvania voters back adult-use legalization<\/a>. That\u2019s the highest level of support for the issue since the firm started polling people about it in 2006.<\/p>\n

An attempt to provide protections for Pennsylvania medical marijuana patients from being charged with driving under the influence\u00a0was derailed in the legislature last year<\/a>, apparently due to pushback by the state police association.<\/p>\n

Also, a bill meant to promote\u00a0research into the therapeutic potential of psilocybin mushrooms<\/a>\u00a0for certain mental health conditions may be in jeopardy, with the sponsor saying recently that the chair of a key House committee is expressing reservations even after the legislation was amended in an effort to build support.<\/p>\n

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New York Senator Files Bill To Promote Marijuana Banking By Giving Financial Institutions Access To Business Information<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n