“Banks are really the lifeblood of virtually every community in Montana,” Hegreberg said in the video. “It’s going to be very difficult, unless the SAFE Banking Act passes, for marijuana-related businesses to actually set up accounts and do financial transactions in the way most of us do.”

“I do want to make it really clear that the banking industry does not condone the marijuana law. Fact of the matter is we formally opposed the ballot measure,” he continued. Despite cannabis being legal in his state, it is “still illegal for a bank technically to accept deposits from marijuana-related businesses.”

“The SAFE Banking Act, which Senator Daines is sponsoring, would go a long way toward helping banks understand what the rules are. We’re very grateful to Senator Daines for his efforts to help clarify what financial institutions, notable banks, can and can’t do as it relates to cannabis.”

Recent Efforts On SAFE Banking Act 

The bipartisan duo of Colorado AG Philip Weiser (D) and his Ohio counterpart Dave Yost (R) sent a letter in April to U.S. Senate leadership demanding the passage of the SAFE banking bill.

Some industry experts believe the bill has a better chance of passing the Senate than the MORE Act, which would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances list and allow states to legalize its production and sale free from federal interference.

Weiser and Yost, co-chairs of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) Federalism Committee, said that “states and federal government share a strong and common interest in protecting public safety and bringing grey market financial activities into the regulated banking sector.”

On the heels of this move, the bill's sponsor Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-CO) also issued a letter to Senate leadership urging the same action.

Perlmutter suggested that passing the SAFE Banking Act, aside from being a priority on its own, would also serve as a legislative “icebreaker” for broader reform.

In May, Daines said he believed other members of the GOP could also get on board.

“We’ve got nine Republican co-sponsors officially on it, close to 50 Democrats,” Daines said. “There are some other Republicans that I’m confident if we had a vote, would vote for it. So, we’ve got the votes to pass the SAFE Banking Act as a standalone, if we’d like to.”

In the meantime, during its 90th annual meeting, the U.S. Conference of Mayors approved a resolution demanding that Congress pass a bill to safeguard banks that work with state-legal marijuana businesses. The proposal focused on banking reform. The Conference also expressed its support for the SAFE Banking Act.

Photo: Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons