Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act of 2015

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Marijuana Businesses Access to 
Banking Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. SAFE HARBOR FOR DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS.

    A Federal banking regulator may not--
                    (1) terminate or limit the deposit insurance or 
                share insurance of a depository institution under the 
                Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 et seq.) 
                or the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1751 et 
                seq.) solely because the depository institution 
                provides or has provided financial services to a 
                marijuana-related legitimate business;
                    (2) prohibit, penalize, or otherwise discourage a 
                depository institution from providing financial 
                services to a marijuana-related legitimate business;
                    (3) recommend, incentivize, or encourage a 
                depository institution not to offer financial services 
                to an individual, or to downgrade or cancel the 
                financial services offered to an individual solely 
                because--
                            (A) the individual is a manufacturer or 
                        producer, or is the owner or operator of a 
                        marijuana-related legitimate business;
                            (B) the individual later becomes an owner 
                        or operator of a marijuana-related legitimate 
                        business; or
                            (C) the depository institution was not 
                        aware that the individual is the owner or 
                        operator of a marijuana-related legitimate 
                        business; and
                    (4) take any adverse or corrective supervisory 
                action on a loan made to an owner or operator of--
                            (A) a marijuana-related legitimate 
                        business, solely because the owner or operator 
                        owns or operates a marijuana-related legitimate 
                        business; or
                            (B) real estate or equipment that is leased 
                        to a marijuana-related legitimate business, 
                        solely because the owner or operator of the 
                        real estate or equipment leased the equipment 
                        or real estate to a marijuana-related 
                        legitimate business.

SEC. 3. PROTECTIONS UNDER FEDERAL LAW.

    (a) In General.--In a State or political subdivision of a State 
that allows the cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, 
transportation, display, dispensing, distribution, or purchase of 
marijuana pursuant to a law or regulation of such State or political 
subdivision, a depository institution that provides financial services 
to a marijuana-related legitimate business, and the officers, 
directors, and employees of that depository institution may not be held 
liable pursuant to any Federal law or regulation--
            (1) solely for providing such financial services pursuant 
        to the law or regulation of such State or political 
        subdivision; or
            (2) for further investing any income derived from such 
        financial services.
    (b) Forfeiture.--A depository institution that has a legal interest 
in the collateral for a loan made to an owner or operator of a 
marijuana-related legitimate business, or to an owner or operator of 
real estate or equipment that is leased to a marijuana-related 
legitimate business, shall not be subject to criminal, civil, or 
administrative forfeiture of that legal interest pursuant to any 
Federal law for providing such loan.

SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall require a depository institution to 
provide financial services to a marijuana-related legitimate business.

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY REPORTS.

    Section 5318(g) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Requirements for marijuana-related businesses.--
                    ``(A) In general.--If a financial institution or 
                any director, officer, employee, or agent of a 
                financial institution reports a suspicious transaction 
                pursuant to this subsection, and the reason for the 
                report relates to a marijuana-related business, the 
                Secretary shall require that such report complies with 
                the requirements of the guidance issued by the 
                Financial Crimes Enforcement Network titled `BSA 
                Expectations Regarding Marijuana-Related Businesses' 
                (FIN-2014-G001; published on February 14, 2014). The 
                Secretary may issue additional regulations or guidance 
                as necessary to ensure that reports of suspicious 
                transactions do not inhibit the provision of financial 
                services to marijuana-related legitimate businesses in 
                a State or political subdivision of a State that has 
                allowed the cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, 
                transportation, display, dispensing, distribution, or 
                purchase of marijuana pursuant to law or regulation of 
                such State or political subdivision.
                    ``(B) Definition.--In this paragraph, the term 
                `marijuana-related legitimate business' has the meaning 
                given such term in the Marijuana Businesses Access to 
                Banking Act of 2015.''.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Depository institution.--The term ``depository 
        institution'' means--
                    (A) a depository institution as defined in section 
                3(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 
                1813(c));
                    (B) a Federal credit union as defined in section 
                101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752); 
                or
                    (C) a State credit union as defined in section 101 
                of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752).
            (2) Federal banking regulator.--The term ``Federal banking 
        regulator'' means each of the Board of Governors of the Federal 
        Reserve System, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 
        the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the 
        Comptroller of the Currency, the National Credit Union 
        Administration, or any Federal agency or department that 
        regulates banking or financial services, as determined by the 
        Secretary of the Treasury.
            (3) Financial service.--The term ``financial service'' 
        means a financial product or service as defined in section 1002 
        of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 
        Act (12 U.S.C. 5481).
            (4) Manufacturer.--The term ``manufacturer'' means a person 
        who manufactures, compounds, converts, processes, prepares, or 
        packages marijuana or marijuana products.
            (5) Marijuana-related legitimate business.--The term 
        ``marijuana-related legitimate business'' means a manufacturer, 
        producer, or any person that--
                    (A) participates in any business or organized 
                activity that involves handling marijuana or marijuana 
                products, including cultivating, producing, 
                manufacturing, selling, transporting, displaying, 
                dispensing, distributing, or purchasing marijuana or 
                marijuana products; and
                    (B) engages in such activity pursuant to a law or 
                regulation of by a State or a political subdivision of 
                a State.
            (6) Marijuana.--The term ``marijuana'' has the meaning 
        given the term ``marihuana'' in section 102 of the Controlled 
        Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).
            (7) Marijuana product.--The term ``marijuana product'' 
        means any article which contains marijuana, including an 
        article which is a concentrate, an edible, a tincture, a 
        marijuana-infused product, or a topical.
            (8) Producer.--The term ``producer'' means a person who 
        plants, cultivates, harvests, or in any way facilitates the 
        natural growth of marijuana.
            (9) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any 
        territory or possession of the United States.

Summary: Marijuana Businesses Access to Banking Act of 2015 This bill provides a safe harbor for depository institutions providing financial services to a marijuana-related legitimate business insofar as it prohibits a federal banking regulator from: (1) terminating or limiting the deposit or share insurance of a depository institution solely because it provides financial services to a marijuana-related legitimate business. Or (2) prohibiting, penalizing, or otherwise discouraging a depository institution from offering such services. A federal banking regulator may neither recommend, motivate, provide incentives, nor encourage a depository institution to refuse to offer financial services to an individual, nor downgrade or cancel financial services offered to an individual, solely because the individual: (1) is a manufacturer, producer, owner or operator of a marijuana-related legitimate business. Or (2) the depository institution was not aware that the individual is the owner or operator of a marijuana-related legitimate business. A federal banking regulator may not take any adverse or corrective supervisory action, solely because of the business involved, on a loan made to an owner or operator of: (1) a marijuana-related legitimate business, or (2) real estate or equipment that is leased to a marijuana-related legitimate business. Immunity from federal criminal prosecution or investigation is granted, subject to certain conditions, to a depository institution that provides financial services to a marijuana-related legitimate business in a state or one of its political subdivisions that allows the cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, transportation, display, dispensing, distribution, or purchase of marijuana. Neither the depository institution nor its officers, directors, nor employees may be held liable under federal law or regulation solely for providing such financial services or further investing income derived from those services. The Department of the Treasury must require any suspicious activity report filed by a financial institution regarding a marijuana-based business to comply with specified guidance of the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.