The House today passed legislation that would allow banks to serve the cannabis industry, an historic step by Congress toward easing federal restrictions around marijuana.
The House passed the landmark bill in a 321-103 vote. Republicans joined with Democrats to help the legislation sail through the chamber in an expedited procedure requiring support from two-thirds of members.
The bill would shield banks and insurers from penalties if they work with cannabis-related businesses that are now legal in a growing number of states. The legislation has become an urgent priority for the banking and cannabis industries because the federal ban on marijuana sales remains in place. Many marijuana businesses, for which total estimated U.S. sales were more than $10 billion in 2018, now work exclusively in cash because they lack access to banks.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter (D-Colo.) first introduced the legislation in 2013. He and the bill's lead backers spent the last several months working to expand GOP support in an attempt to make the proposal more palatable to the Republican-led Senate. They were able to attract new Republican votes after adding measures that would extend banking protections to hemp and stop the revival of an Obama-era bank regulatory program known as "Operation Choke Point."
Senate Banking Chairman Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) has said he would like to take up cannabis banking legislation by the end of the year.
Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine