S. 2860 118th Congress Senate

SAFER Banking Act

Official title: A bill 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.

Introduced: September 26, 2023 Introduced by: Jeff Merkley Democratic · Oregon See on congress.gov

Finance and Financial Sector Administrative law and regulatory proceduresAsiaBank accounts, deposits, capitalBanking and financial institutions regulation

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Business recordsCongressional oversightConsumer affairsCredit and credit marketsCriminal investigation, prosecution, interrogationDepartment of the TreasuryDrug trafficking and controlled substancesDrug, alcohol, tobacco useEvidence and witnessesFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)Federal Reserve SystemFinancial services and investmentsFraud offenses and financial crimesGovernment information and archivesGovernment liabilityGovernment studies and investigationsInsurance industry and regulationIranJudicial procedure and administrationLicensing and registrationsMiddle EastMinority and disadvantaged businessesNational Credit Union AdministrationNorth KoreaOrganized crimeSyriaTerrorismWomen in business

Everywhere this bill has been 6 steps

Introduced

In committee

Reported out

Passed House

Passed Senate

To President

Became law

Dec 6, 2023

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 118-496.

Sep 28, 2023

Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 215.

Sep 28, 2023

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Reported by Senator Brown with amendments. Without written report.

Sep 27, 2023

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Ordered to be reported with amendments favorably.

Sep 20, 2023

Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

Sep 20, 2023

Introduced in Senate

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Latest action December 6, 2023

Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 118-496.

Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

Secure And Fair Enforcement Regulation Banking Act or the SAFER Banking Act

This bill provides protections for federally regulated financial institutions that serve state-sanctioned marijuana businesses. Currently, many financial institutions do not provide services to state-sanctioned marijuana businesses due to the federal classification of marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance.

Under the bill, a federal banking regulator may not penalize a depository institution for providing banking services to a state-sanctioned marijuana business. For example, regulators may not terminate or limit the deposit or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution provides financial services to a state-sanctioned marijuana business.

The bill also prohibits a federal banking regulator from requesting or requiring a depository institution to terminate a deposit account unless (1) there is a valid reason, such as the regulator has cause to believe that the depository institution is engaging in an unsafe or unsound practice; and (2) reputational risk is not the dispositive factor.

Additionally, proceeds from a transaction conducted by a state-sanctioned marijuana business are no longer considered proceeds from unlawful activity. (Financial institutions that handle proceeds from unlawful activity are subject to anti-money laundering laws. Violators of these laws are subject to fines and imprisonment.)

Furthermore, a financial institution, insurer, or federal agency may not be held liable or subject to asset forfeiture under federal law for providing a loan, mortgage, or other financial service to a state-sanctioned marijuana business.

Related & companion bills 2

Bill text 2 versions

Introduced in Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML
Reported to Senate Formatted Text PDF Formatted XML

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

Committees of jurisdiction 1

Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee
Senate

Lobbying activity 17

Registered lobbyists who named this bill in their disclosure filings. Source: federal Lobbying Disclosure Act filings.

INSURED RETIREMENT INSTITUTE
for INSURED RETIREMENT INSTITUTE · District of Columbia · 3rd Quarter 2026 (July 1 - Sep 30)
INSURED RETIREMENT INSTITUTE
for INSURED RETIREMENT INSTITUTE · District of Columbia · 2nd Quarter 2026 (Apr 1 - June 30)
INSURED RETIREMENT INSTITUTE
for INSURED RETIREMENT INSTITUTE · District of Columbia · 1st Quarter 2026 (Jan 1 - Mar 31)
HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP
for THE US CANNABIS ROUNDTABLE · District of Columbia · 1st Quarter 2026 (Jan 1 - Mar 31)
INSURED RETIREMENT INSTITUTE
for INSURED RETIREMENT INSTITUTE · District of Columbia · 4th Quarter 2025 (Oct 1 - Dec 31)
HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP
for THE US CANNABIS ROUNDTABLE · District of Columbia · 4th Quarter 2025 (Oct 1 - Dec 31)

Bodies those filers lobbied

SENATE
16 filings
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
15 filings
Treasury, Dept of
12 filings
Labor, Dept of (DOL)
10 filings
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
7 filings
Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC)
7 filings
Commerce, Dept of (DOC)
3 filings
Executive Office of the President (EOP)
3 filings

A filing lists the bills it worked on and the parts of government it contacted in separate sections, so these are the bodies those filers named anywhere in the filing, not a per-bill breakdown.

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Cosponsors 33