II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5131 

To ensure that certain loan programs of the Small Business Administration 

are made available to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service 

providers, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2022 

Ms. ROSEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To ensure that certain loan programs of the Small Business 

Administration are made available to cannabis-related 

legitimate businesses and service providers, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Access for Can5 nabis Small Businesses Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. 7(a) LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE 

2 BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

3 Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 636(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(38) LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI6 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 

7 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

8 ‘‘(i) CANNABIS.—The term ‘cannabis’ 

9 has the meaning given the term ‘mari10 huana’ in section 102 of the Controlled 

11 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 

12 ‘‘(ii) CANNABIS PRODUCT.—The term 

13 ‘cannabis product’ means any article that 

14 contains cannabis, including an article that 

15 is a concentrate, an edible, a tincture, a 

16 cannabis-infused product, or a topical. 

17 ‘‘(iii) CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI18 MATE BUSINESS.—The term ‘cannabis-re19 lated legitimate business’ means a manu20 facturer, producer, or any person or com21 pany that is a small business concern and 

22 that— 

23 ‘‘(I) engages in any activity de24 scribed in subclause (II) pursuant to 

25 a law established by a State or a po26 litical subdivision of a State, as deterVerDate Sep 11 2014 16:21 Nov 22, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5131.IS S5131

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1 mined by the State or political sub2 division; and 

3 ‘‘(II) participates in any business 

4 or organized activity that involves 

5 handling cannabis or cannabis prod6 ucts, including cultivating, producing, 

7 manufacturing, selling, transporting, 

8 displaying, dispensing, distributing, or 

9 purchasing cannabis or cannabis prod10 ucts. 

11 ‘‘(iv) MANUFACTURER.—The term 

12 ‘manufacturer’ means a person who manu13 factures, compounds, converts, processes, 

14 prepares, or packages cannabis or cannabis 

15 products. 

16 ‘‘(v) PRODUCER.—The term ‘pro17 ducer’ means a person who plants, cul18 tivates, harvests, or in any way facilitates 

19 the natural growth of cannabis. 

20 ‘‘(vi) SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

21 ‘service provider’— 

22 ‘‘(I) means a business, organiza23 tion, or other person that— 


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1 ‘‘(aa) sells goods or services 

2 to a cannabis-related legitimate 

3 business; or 

4 ‘‘(bb) provides any business 

5 services, including the sale or 

6 lease of real or any other prop7 erty, legal or other licensed serv8 ices, or any other ancillary serv9 ice, relating to cannabis; and 

10 ‘‘(II) does not include a business, 

11 organization, or other person that 

12 participates in any business or orga13 nized activity that involves handling 

14 cannabis or cannabis products, includ15 ing cultivating, producing, manufac16 turing, selling, transporting, dis17 playing, dispensing, distributing, or 

18 purchasing cannabis or cannabis prod19 ucts. 

20 ‘‘(vii) STATE.—The term ‘State’ 

21 means each of the several States, the Dis22 trict of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any 

23 territory or possession of the United 

24 States. 


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1 ‘‘(B) LOANS.—Notwithstanding any provi2 sion of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

3 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Administrator may not 

4 decline to provide a guarantee for a loan under 

5 this subsection, and a lender may not decline to 

6 make a loan made under this subsection, to an 

7 otherwise eligible small business concern solely 

8 because the concern is a cannabis-related legiti9 mate business or service provider.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. DISASTER LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI11 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

12 Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

13 636(b)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (15) the 

14 following: 

15 ‘‘(16) ASSISTANCE TO CANNABIS-RELATED LE16 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 

17 Notwithstanding any provision of the Controlled 

18 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Admin19 istrator may not decline to provide assistance under 

20 this subsection to an otherwise eligible borrower 

21 solely because the borrower is a cannabis-related le22 gitimate business or service provider (as defined in 

23 subsection (a)(38)).’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. MICROLOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE 

2 BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

3 Section 7(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

4 636(m)(13)) is amended by adding at the end the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(14) ASSISTANCE TO CANNABIS-RELATED LE7 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 

8 Notwithstanding any provision of the Controlled 

9 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the Admin10 istrator may not prohibit an eligible intermediary 

11 from providing assistance under this subsection to 

12 an otherwise eligible borrower solely because the bor13 rower is a cannabis-related legitimate business or 

14 service provider (as defined in subsection (a)(38)).’’. 

15 SEC. 5. SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANY DEBEN16 TURES TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED LE17 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PRO18 VIDERS. 

19 Part A of title III of the Small Business Investment 

20 Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 681 et seq.) is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘SEC. 321. DEBENTURES TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED 

23 LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PRO24 VIDERS. 

25 ‘‘(a) GUARANTEES.—Notwithstanding any provision 

26 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), 


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1 the Administrator may not decline to purchase or guar2 antee a debenture issued under this title to an otherwise 

3 eligible small business investment company solely because 

4 the small business investment company provides financing 

5 to an entity that is a cannabis-related legitimate business 

6 or service provider (as defined in paragraph (38) of section 

7 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)). 

8 ‘‘(b) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding any 

9 provision of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 

10 et seq.), the Administrator may not prohibit a small busi11 ness investment company from providing assistance under 

12 this title to an otherwise eligible small business concern 

13 solely because the small business concern is a cannabis14 related legitimate business or service provider (as defined 

15 in paragraph (38) of section 7(a) of the Small Business 

16 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)).’’. 

17 SEC. 6. STATE OR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LOANS 

18 TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI19 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

20 Title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 

21 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 

22 the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 511. LOANS TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI2 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

3 ‘‘(a) GUARANTEES.—Notwithstanding any provision 

4 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), 

5 the Administrator may not decline to guarantee a deben6 ture issued under this title for the purpose of making 1 

7 or more loans to small business concerns solely because 

8 the small business concern is a cannabis-related legitimate 

9 business or service provider (as defined in paragraph (38) 

10 of section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

11 636(a)). 

12 ‘‘(b) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—Notwithstanding any 

13 provision of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 

14 et seq.), a qualified State or local development company 

15 may not decline an application for a loan under this title 

16 submitted by an otherwise eligible small business concern 

17 solely because the small business concern is a cannabis18 related legitimate business or service provider (as defined 

19 in paragraph (38) of section 7(a) of the Small Business 

20 Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)).’’. 

21 SEC. 7. ASSISTANCE FROM RESOURCE PARTNERS FOR CAN22 NABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES 

23 AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 

24 (a) SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTERS.— 

25 Section 21(c) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

26 648(c)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(9) SERVICES FOR CANNABIS-RELATED LE2 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 

3 Notwithstanding any provision of the Controlled 

4 Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), a small 

5 business development center may not decline to pro6 vide services to an otherwise eligible small business 

7 concern under this section solely because the small 

8 business concern is a cannabis-related legitimate 

9 business or service provider (as defined in section 

10 7(a)(38)).’’. 

11 (b) WOMEN’S BUSINESS CENTERS.—Section 29 of 

12 the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 656) is amended by 

13 adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(p) SERVICES FOR CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI15 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.—Notwith16 standing any provision of the Controlled Substances Act 

17 (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), a women’s business center may 

18 not decline to provide services to an otherwise eligible 

19 small business concern under this section solely because 

20 the small business concern is a cannabis-related legitimate 

21 business or service provider (as defined in section 

22 7(a)(38)).’’. 

23 (c) SCORE.—Section 8(b)(1)(B) of the Small Busi24 ness Act (15 U.S.C. 637(b)(1)(B)) is amended by adding 

25 at the end the following: ‘‘Notwithstanding any provision 


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1 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), 

2 the head of the SCORE program established under this 

3 subparagraph may not decline to provide services to an 

4 otherwise eligible small business concern solely because the 

5 concern is a cannabis-related legitimate business or service 

6 provider (as defined in section 7(a)(38)).’’. 

7 (d) VETERAN BUSINESS OUTREACH CENTERS.—Sec8 tion 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 657b) is 

9 amended by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(h) SERVICES FOR CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI11 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.—Notwith12 standing any provision of the Controlled Substances Act 

13 (21 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), a Veteran Business Outreach 

14 Center may not decline to provide services to an otherwise 

15 eligible small business concern under this section solely be16 cause the small business concern is a cannabis-related le17 gitimate business or service provider (as defined in section 

18 7(a)(38)).’’. 

19 SEC. 8. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDERS. 

20 In addition to the programs covered by the amend21 ments made by this Act, and notwithstanding any provi22 sion of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 801 et 

23 seq.), a provider of financial or technical assistance under 

24 a program administered or funded by the Small Business 

25 Administration may not decline to provide such financial 


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1 or technical assistance to an otherwise eligible small busi2 ness concern (as defined in section 3 of the Small Business 

3 Act (15 U.S.C. 632)) solely because the concern is a can4 nabis-related legitimate business or service provider (as 

5 defined in section 7(a)(38) of the Small Business Act (15 

6 U.S.C. 636(a)(38)). 

7 SEC. 9. RULEMAKING. 

8 Not later than 120 days after the date of enactment 

9 of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business Ad10 ministration shall issue or amend any rules, standard op11 erating procedures, and other legal or policy guidance as 

12 necessary to carry out the requirements of this Act and 

13 the amendments made by this Act. 

Æ 


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