II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1726 

To create protections for depository institutions that provide financial services 

to marijuana-related businesses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 9, 2015 

Mr. MERKLEY (for himself, Mr. GARDNER, Mr. BENNET, Mr. PAUL, Mr. 

WYDEN, and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 

Affairs 

A BILL 

To create protections for depository institutions that provide 

financial services to marijuana-related businesses, 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 ‘‘Marijuana Businesses 

5 Access to Banking Act of 2015’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SAFE HARBOR FOR DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS. 

7 A Federal banking regulator may not— 

8 (1) terminate or limit the deposit insur9 ance or share insurance of a depository instituVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:10 Jul 10, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1726.IS S1726

asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 1726 IS

1 tion under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act 

2 (12 U.S.C. 1811 et seq.) or the Federal Credit 

3 Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1751 et seq.) solely be4 cause the depository institution provides or has 

5 provided financial services to a marijuana-re6 lated legitimate business; 

7 (2) prohibit, penalize, or otherwise discour8 age a depository institution from providing fi9 nancial services to a marijuana-related legiti10 mate business; 

11 (3) recommend, incentivize, or encourage a 

12 depository institution not to offer financial serv13 ices to an individual, or to downgrade or cancel 

14 the financial services offered to an individual 

15 solely because— 

16 (A) the individual is a manufacturer 

17 or producer, or is the owner or operator of 

18 a marijuana-related legitimate business; 

19 (B) the individual later becomes an 

20 owner or operator of a marijuana-related 

21 legitimate business; or 

22 (C) the depository institution was not 

23 aware that the individual is the owner or 

24 operator of a marijuana-related legitimate 

25 business; and 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 1726 IS

1 (4) take any adverse or corrective super2 visory action on a loan to an owner or operator 

3 of— 

4 (A) a marijuana-related legitimate 

5 business solely because the business owner 

6 or operator is a marijuana-related busi7 ness; or 

8 (B) real estate or equipment that is 

9 leased to a marijuana-related legitimate 

10 business solely because the owner or oper11 ator of the real estate or equipment leased 

12 the equipment or real estate to a mari13 juana-related legitimate business. 

14 SEC. 3. PROTECTIONS UNDER FEDERAL LAW. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—In a State or political subdivision 

16 that allows the cultivation, production, manufacturing, 

17 transportation, display, dispensing, distribution, sale, or 

18 purchase of marijuana pursuant to a law (including regu19 lations) of the State or political subdivision, a depository 

20 institution and the officers, director, and employees of the 

21 depository institution that provides financial services to a 

22 marijuana-related legitimate business may not be held lia23 ble pursuant to any Federal law (including regulations)— 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 1726 IS

1 (1) solely for providing the financial services 

2 pursuant to the law (including regulations) of the 

3 State or political subdivision; or 

4 (2) for further investing any income derived 

5 from the financial services. 

6 (b) FORFEITURE.—A depository institution that has 

7 a legal interest in the collateral for a loan made to an 

8 owner or operator of a marijuana-related legitimate busi9 ness, or to an owner or operator of real estate or equip10 ment that is leased to a marijuana-related legitimate busi11 ness, shall not be subject to criminal, civil, or administra12 tive forfeiture of that legal interest pursuant to any Fed13 eral law for providing the loan. 

14 SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

15 Nothing in this Act shall require a depository institu16 tion to provide financial services to a marijuana-related 

17 legitimate business. 

18 SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY 

19 REPORTS. 

20 Section 5318(g) of title 31, United States Code, is 

21 amended by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS FOR MARIJUANA-RELATED

23 BUSINESSES.—A financial institution or any direc24 tor, officer, employee, or agent of a financial institu25 tion that reports a suspicious transaction pursuant 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 1726 IS

1 to a marijuana-related legitimate business (as de2 fined in section 6 of the Marijuana Businesses Ac3 cess to Banking Act of 2015) shall comply with ap4 propriate guidance issued by the Financial Crimes 

5 Enforcement Network. The Secretary shall ensure 

6 that the guidance is consistent with the purpose and 

7 intent of the Marijuana Businesses Access to Bank8 ing Act of 2015 and does not inhibit the provision 

9 of financial services to a marijuana-related legiti10 mate business in a State or political subdivision of 

11 a State that has allowed the cultivation, production, 

12 manufacturing, transportation, display, dispensing, 

13 distribution, sale, or purchase of marijuana pursuant 

14 to law or regulation of the State or political subdivi15 sion.’’. 

16 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘de19 pository institution’’ means— 

20 (A) a depository institution as defined in 

21 section 3(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance 

22 Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(c)); 

23 (B) a Federal credit union as defined in 

24 section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act 

25 (12 U.S.C. 1752); or 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 1726 IS

1 (C) a State credit union as defined in sec2 tion 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 

3 U.S.C. 1752). 

4 (2) FEDERAL BANKING REGULATOR.—The 

5 term ‘‘Federal banking regulator’’ means each of the 

6 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 

7 the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the 

8 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of 

9 the Comptroller of the Currency, the National Credit 

10 Union Administration, or any Federal agency or de11 partment that regulates banking or financial serv12 ices, as determined by the Secretary of the Treas13 ury. 

14 (3) FINANCIAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘financial 

15 service’’ means a financial product or service as de16 fined in section 1002 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street 

17 Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 

18 5481). 

19 (4) MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘‘manufac20 turer’’ means a person who manufactures, com21 pounds, converts, processes, prepares, or packages 

22 marijuana or marijuana products. 

23 (5) MARIJUANA-RELATED LEGITIMATE BUSI24 NESS.—The term ‘‘marijuana-related legitimate 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 1726 IS

1 business’’ means a manufacturer, producer, or any 

2 person that— 

3 (A) participates in any business or orga4 nized activity that involves handling marijuana 

5 or marijuana products, including cultivating, 

6 producing, manufacturing, selling, transporting, 

7 displaying, dispensing, distributing, or pur8 chasing marijuana or marijuana products; and 

9 (B) engages in such activity pursuant to a 

10 law established by a State or a political subdivi11 sion of a State. 

12 (6) MARIJUANA.—The term ‘‘marijuana’’ has 

13 the meaning given the term ‘‘marihuana’’ in section 

14 102 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 

15 802). 

16 (7) MARIJUANA PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘mari17 juana product’’ means any article which contains 

18 marijuana, including an article which is a con19 centrate, an edible, a tincture, a marijuana-infused 

20 product, or a topical. 

21 (8) PRODUCER.—The term ‘‘producer’’ means a 

22 person who plants, cultivates, harvests, or in any 

23 way facilitates the natural growth of marijuana. 

24 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 

25 the several States, the District of Columbia, Puerto 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 1726 IS

1 Rico, and any territory or possession of the United 

2 States. 

Æ 


asabaliauskas on DSK5VPTVN1PROD with BILLS