The SAFE banking act, which shields banks from penalty from Federal regulators if they decide to work with marijuana companies, has a had an arduous path in the Legislature despite bipartisan support.
However, the most integral parts of the bill have made their way through the House (yet again) attached to the much larger Defense spending bill. Motives and outlooks change quickly in politics, so many are wondering if the landscape has changed just enough for banking protection to make it through the Senate as well.
As an example of the changing tides and moods of our Senate, Cory Booker, who just recently had claimed he would block the SAFE banking bill if it got in the way of his larger marijuana legalization bill, is now leading the charge on getting these provisions through the Senate.
Because the banking protections were not a part of the original Defense bill that was crafted in the Senate, this added language has an extra step if it passes the Senate. A bicameral conference committee formed with negotiators from both parties will get to work fixing any differences between the bills from the House and the Senate. The bill will change shape, and these banking protections will be one of the first discussions.
It’s encouraging that this issue is so bipartisan, however skepticism is abound, mainly due to the language not having originated in the Senate.
Read the original story at Marijuana Moment.
