ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—Although credit union-supported legislation that would provide protections to CUs serving cannabis-related businesses has made progress in the House, CUNA is warning it faces challenges in the Senate.
The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act was passed the House earlier this year and was also successfully added to the House-passed FY22 National Defense Authorization Act.
“The defense bill is going to pass, so getting something attached to that in the House means you’re in pretty good shape,” said CUNA Chief Advocacy Officer Ryan Donovan during CUNA’s Canna Biz conference here. “But we face a lot of challenges in the Senate.”
Donovan told the meeting the Senate is looking at the SAFE Banking legislation along with other legislation that would include full decriminalization and the expungement of records of those with cannabis convictions, all of which are priorities for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
‘The Perfect Vs. The Good’
“The real concern is that is appears the Senate is positioning the perfect to be the enemy of the good,” Donovan said, noting that several Democratic members of the Senate are insisting on decriminalization legislation as opposed simply fixing the banking issue.
Donovan highlighted that public support for decriminalization has gone up in recent years, which will make it easier for Congress to act, but that today Congressional support is insufficient to enact decriminalization legislation.
“I have confidence that at some point, probably in next four years, the cannabis banking issue will be resolved at federal level,” he said. “I have equal confidence that the fundamental dynamics of how the Justice Department approaches this will be unchanged over the same period of time.”
Donovan noted credit unions have been engaged on cannabis business-related issues since 2012, when Colorado and Washington first legalized recreational cannabis. That’s when credit unions on those states started reaching out to CUNA, which did not have any formal policy yet on cannabis banking, he added.