I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1595 

To create protections for depository institutions that provide financial services 

to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers for such 

businesses, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 7, 2019 

Mr. PERLMUTTER (for himself, Mr. HECK, Mr. STIVERS, Mr. DAVIDSON of 

Ohio, Mr. AGUILAR, Ms. BARRAGA ́N, Mr. BEYER, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Ms. 

BONAMICI, Mr. BRENDAN F. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Mr. BROWN of 

Maryland, Ms. BROWNLEY of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, 

Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. CASTOR of Florida, Mr. CICILLINE, Mr. 

CISNEROS, Ms. CLARK of Massachusetts, Ms. CLARKE of New York, Mr. 

COHEN, Mr. COOPER, Mr. CORREA, Mr. COURTNEY, Mr. COX of California, Mr. CRIST, Mr. CROW, Mrs. DAVIS of California, Mr. DEFAZIO, 

Ms. DEGETTE, Ms. DELAURO, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. DESAULNIER, Ms. 

ESHOO, Mr. ESPAILLAT, Mr. FOSTER, Ms. FUDGE, Ms. GABBARD, Mr. 

GALLEGO, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. GONZALEZ of Texas, 

Mr. HASTINGS, Ms. HILL of California, Mr. HORSFORD, Mr. HUFFMAN, 

Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. 

KHANNA, Mr. KILMER, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. KRISHNAMOORTHI, Mr. 

LAWSON of Florida, Ms. LEE of California, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, Mr. 

LEVIN of Michigan, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. TED LIEU of California, Mr. LUJA ́N, Ms. MATSUI, Ms. MCCOLLUM, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 

MEEKS, Mr. NEGUSE, Ms. NORTON, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. 

PINGREE, Ms. PORTER, Mr. QUIGLEY, Mr. RASKIN, Mr. RUSH, Mr. 

RYAN, Mr. ROUDA, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHRADER, Mr. SHERMAN, 

Mr. SIRES, Mr. SMITH of Washington, Mr. SOTO, Ms. SPEIER, Mr. 

SWALWELL of California, Ms. TITUS, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. 

VARGAS, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Mr. WELCH, Ms. 

WILD, Mr. YARMUTH, Mr. RODNEY DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. HUNTER, Mr. 

JOYCE of Ohio, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. HIMES, Mr. 

LOEBSACK, Ms. LOFGREN, Mr. LOWENTHAL, Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York, Mr. SEAN PATRICK MALONEY of New York, Mr. 

TAKANO, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. GAETZ, Mr. RIGGLEMAN, Mr. 

DAVID SCOTT of Georgia, Ms. WATERS, and Ms. SCHRIER) introduced 

the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to 

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ation of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To create protections for depository institutions that provide 

financial services to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers for such 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; PURPOSE. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Secure And Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019’’ or 

6 the ‘‘SAFE Banking Act of 2019’’. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to increase 

8 public safety by expanding financial services to cannabis9 related legitimate businesses and service providers and re10 ducing the amount of cash at such businesses. 

11 SEC. 2. SAFE HARBOR FOR DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS. 

12 A Federal banking regulator may not— 

13 (1) terminate or limit the deposit insurance or 

14 share insurance of a depository institution under the 

15 Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 et 

16 seq.), the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1751 

17 et seq.), or take any other adverse action against a 

18 depository institution under section 8 of the Federal 


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1 Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1818) solely be2 cause the depository institution provides or has pro3 vided financial services to a cannabis-related legiti4 mate business or service provider; 

5 (2) prohibit, penalize, or otherwise discourage a 

6 depository institution from providing financial serv7 ices to a cannabis-related legitimate business or 

8 service provider or to a State, political subdivision of 

9 a State, or Indian Tribe that exercises jurisdiction 

10 over cannabis-related legitimate businesses; 

11 (3) recommend, incentivize, or encourage a de12 pository institution not to offer financial services to 

13 an account holder, or to downgrade or cancel the fi14 nancial services offered to an account holder solely 

15 because— 

16 (A) the account holder is a cannabis-re17 lated legitimate business or service provider, or 

18 is an employee, owner, or operator of a can19 nabis-related legitimate business or service pro20 vider; 

21 (B) the account holder later becomes an 

22 employee, owner, or operator of a cannabis-re23 lated legitimate business or service provider; or 

24 (C) the depository institution was not 

25 aware that the account holder is an employee, 


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1 owner, or operator of a cannabis-related legiti2 mate business or service provider; 

3 (4) take any adverse or corrective supervisory 

4 action on a loan made to— 

5 (A) a cannabis-related legitimate business 

6 or service provider, solely because the business 

7 is a cannabis-related legitimate business or 

8 service provider; 

9 (B) an employee, owner, or operator of a 

10 cannabis-related legitimate business or service 

11 provider, solely because the employee, owner, or 

12 operator is employed by, owns, or operates a 

13 cannabis-related legitimate business or service 

14 provider, as applicable; or 

15 (C) an owner or operator of real estate or 

16 equipment that is leased to a cannabis-related 

17 legitimate business or service provider, solely 

18 because the owner or operator of the real estate 

19 or equipment leased the equipment or real es20 tate to a cannabis-related legitimate business or 

21 service provider, as applicable; and 

22 (5) prohibit or penalize a depository institution, 

23 or entity performing services for the depository insti24 tution, for, or otherwise discourage a depository in25 stitution, or entity performing services for the deposVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:10 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1595.IH H1595

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1 itory institution, from, authorizing, processing, clear2 ing, settling, billing, transferring, reconciling, or col3 lecting payments for a cannabis-related legitimate 

4 business, where such payment is made by any 

5 means, including a credit, debit, or other payment 

6 card, an account, check, or electronic funds transfer. 

7 SEC. 3. PROTECTIONS FOR ANCILLARY BUSINESSES. 

8 For purposes of sections 1956 and 1957 of title 18, 

9 United States Code, and all other provisions of Federal 

10 law, the proceeds from a transaction conducted by a can11 nabis-related legitimate business or service provider shall 

12 not be considered as proceeds from an unlawful activity 

13 solely because the transaction was conducted by a can14 nabis-related legitimate business or service provider, as 

15 applicable. 

16 SEC. 4. PROTECTIONS UNDER FEDERAL LAW. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—With respect to providing finan18 cial services within a State, political subdivision of a State, 

19 or Indian country that allows the cultivation, production, 

20 manufacture, sale, transportation, display, dispensing, dis21 tribution, or purchase of cannabis pursuant to a law or 

22 regulation of such State, political subdivision, or Indian 

23 Tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian country, as ap24 plicable, a depository institution that provides financial 

25 services to a cannabis-related legitimate business or servVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:10 Mar 20, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1595.IH H1595

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1 ice provider, and the officers, directors, and employees of 

2 that depository institution may not be held liable pursuant 

3 to any Federal law or regulation— 

4 (1) solely for providing such financial services; 

5 or 

6 (2) for further investing any income derived 

7 from such financial services. 

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

9 a legal interest in the collateral for a loan or another fi10 nancial service provided to an owner or operator of a can11 nabis-related legitimate business or service provider, or to 

12 an owner or operator of real estate or equipment that is 

13 leased or sold to a cannabis-related legitimate business or 

14 service provider, shall not be subject to criminal, civil, or 

15 administrative forfeiture of that legal interest pursuant to 

16 any Federal law for providing such loan or other financial 

17 service. 

18 SEC. 5. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION. 

19 Nothing in this Act shall require a depository institu20 tion to provide financial services to a cannabis-related le21 gitimate business or service provider. 

22 SEC. 6. REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY 

23 REPORTS. 

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

25 amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(5) REQUIREMENTS FOR CANNABIS-RELATED

2 LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES.— 

3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a fi4 nancial institution or any director, officer, em5 ployee, or agent of a financial institution that 

6 reports a suspicious transaction pursuant to 

7 this subsection, if the reason for the report re8 lates to a cannabis-related legitimate business 

9 or service provider, the report shall comply with 

10 appropriate guidance issued by the Financial 

11 Crimes Enforcement Network. The Secretary 

12 shall ensure that the guidance is consistent with 

13 the purpose and intent of the SAFE Banking 

14 Act of 2019 and does not significantly inhibit 

15 the provision of financial services to a cannabis16 related legitimate business or service provider in 

17 a State, political subdivision of a State, or In18 dian country that has allowed the cultivation, 

19 production, manufacture, transportation, dis20 play, dispensing, distribution, sale, or purchase 

21 of cannabis pursuant to law or regulation of 

22 such State, political subdivision, or Indian 

23 Tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian 

24 country. 


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1 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this 

2 paragraph: 

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

4 has the meaning given the term ‘mari5 huana’ in section 102 of the Controlled 

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

7 ‘‘(ii) CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE

8 BUSINESS.—The term ‘cannabis-related le9 gitimate business’ has the meaning given 

10 that term in section 8 of the SAFE Bank11 ing Act of 2019. 

12 ‘‘(iii) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term 

13 ‘Indian country’ has the meaning given 

14 that term in section 1151 of title 18. 

15 ‘‘(iv) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘In16 dian Tribe’ has the meaning given that 

17 term in section 102 of the Federally Rec18 ognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 

19 U.S.C. 479a). 

20 ‘‘(v) FINANCIAL SERVICE.—The term 

21 ‘financial service’ means a financial prod22 uct or service as defined in section 1002 of 

23 the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 

24 Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 

25 5481). 


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1 ‘‘(vi) SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 

2 ‘service provider’ has the meaning given 

3 that term in section 8 of the SAFE Bank4 ing Act of 2019. 

5 ‘‘(vii) STATE.—The term ‘State’ 

6 means each of the several States, the Dis7 trict of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any 

8 territory or possession of the United 

9 States.’’. 

10 SEC. 7. GUIDANCE AND EXAMINATION PROCEDURES. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

12 date of enactment of this Act, the Financial Institutions 

13 Examination Council shall develop uniform guidance and 

14 examination procedures for depository institutions that 

15 provide financial services to cannabis-related legitimate 

16 businesses and service providers. 

17 (b) ISSUANCE BY FEDERAL BANKING REGU18 LATORS.—The Federal banking regulators shall each issue 

19 guidance and examination procedures for depository insti20 tutions that provide financial services to cannabis-related 

21 legitimate businesses and service providers that are con22 sistent with the uniform guidance and examination proce23 dures developed under subsection (a). 

24 SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 

25 In this Act: 


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1 (1) CANNABIS.—The term ‘‘cannabis’’ has the 

2 meaning given the term ‘‘marihuana’’ in section 102 

3 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 

4 (2) CANNABIS PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘cannabis 

5 product’’ means any article which contains cannabis, 

6 including an article which is a concentrate, an edi7 ble, a tincture, a cannabis-infused product, or a top8 ical. 

9 (3) CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE BUSI10 NESS.—The term ‘‘cannabis-related legitimate busi11 ness’’ means a manufacturer, producer, or any per12 son or company that— 

13 (A) engages in any activity described in 

14 subparagraph (B) pursuant to a law established 

15 by a State or a political subdivision of a State, 

16 as determined by such State or political subdivi17 sion; and 

18 (B) participates in any business or orga19 nized activity that involves handling cannabis or 

20 cannabis products, including cultivating, pro21 ducing, manufacturing, selling, transporting, 

22 displaying, dispensing, distributing, or pur23 chasing cannabis or cannabis products. 

24 (4) DEPOSITORY INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘de25 pository institution’’ means— 


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1 (A) a depository institution as defined in 

2 section 3(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance 

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

4 (B) a Federal credit union as defined in 

5 section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act 

6 (12 U.S.C. 1752); or 

7 (C) a State credit union as defined in sec8 tion 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 

9 U.S.C. 1752). 

10 (5) FEDERAL BANKING REGULATOR.—The 

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

12 Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 

13 the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, the 

14 Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of 

15 the Comptroller of the Currency, the National Credit 

16 Union Administration, or any Federal agency or de17 partment that regulates banking or financial serv18 ices, as determined by the Secretary of the Treas19 ury. 

20 (6) FINANCIAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘financial 

21 service’’ means a financial product or service as de22 fined in section 1002 of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street 

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

24 5481). 


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1 (7) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun2 try’’ has the meaning given that term in section 

3 1151 of title 18. 

4 (8) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

5 has the meaning given that term in section 102 of 

6 the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 

7 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a). 

8 (9) MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘‘manufac9 turer’’ means a person who manufactures, com10 pounds, converts, processes, prepares, or packages 

11 cannabis or cannabis products. 

12 (10) PRODUCER.—The term ‘‘producer’’ means 

13 a person who plants, cultivates, harvests, or in any 

14 way facilitates the natural growth of cannabis. 

15 (11) SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term ‘‘service 

16 provider’’— 

17 (A) means a business, organization, or 

18 other person that— 

19 (i) sells goods or services to a can20 nabis-related legitimate business; or 

21 (ii) provides any business services, in22 cluding the sale or lease of real or any 

23 other property, legal or other licensed serv24 ices, or any other ancillary service, relating 

25 to cannabis; and 


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1 (B) does not include a business, organiza2 tion, or other person that participates in any 

3 business or organized activity that involves han4 dling cannabis or cannabis products, including 

5 cultivating, producing, manufacturing, selling, 

6 transporting, displaying, dispensing, distrib7 uting, or purchasing cannabis or cannabis prod8 ucts. 

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

10 the several States, the District of Columbia, Puerto 

11 Rico, and any territory or possession of the United 

12 States. 

Æ 


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