This May, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra joined a bipartisan coalition of 34 attorneys general urging the U.S. Congress to give licensed cannabis businesses access to the federal banking system as part of any future coronavirus relief package.
Passage of the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act or similar legislation would provide much-needed revenue to state and local governments, they pointed out.
“The continued exclusion of the licensed cannabis industry from the federal banking system is untenable – and unwise,” said Becerra. “The coronavirus crisis has only exacerbated the economic and investigatory challenges that arise from keeping a $15 billion industry in the shadows. Congress should move swiftly to pass this commonsense legislation and provide relief to the many local cannabis businesses that are playing by the rules.”
The coalition points out that the ability to efficiently collect tax revenue from the cannabis industry, estimated to have generated $15 billion in sales in 2019, would provide critical relief for state and local governments predicting budget shortfalls due to the pandemic.
Additionally, cash intensive businesses are often a target of criminal activity, with threats to public safety only intensifying since the coronavirus pandemic began. The large presence of cash transactions also places law enforcement, tax regulators, consumers, and patients at heightened risk of exposure to the virus.
A year ago, Becerra and 37 attorneys general, sent a letter to Congress urging passage of the SAFE Banking Act, but action has not been taken.
Attorneys general from Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Guam, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Northern Mariana Islands, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin, sent the letter to Congress.