Lawmakers reintroduce cannabis banking reform bill

A bipartisan group of senators and House members has reintroduced legislation aimed at giving banks clearer legal protection when serving state-legal cannabis businesses, reviving a measure that has repeatedly cleared the House but never passed the Senate.

The proposal, the Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2026, comes after the federal reclassification of medical cannabis from a Schedule I to Schedule III drug. Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-OR, introduced the bill alongside Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-MA, Lisa Murkowski, R-AK, and Steve Daines, R-MT. In the House, Rep. David Joyce, R-OH, introduced companion legislation with seven colleagues.

If enacted, the bill would bar federal regulators from prohibiting or discouraging banks from providing services to legal cannabis businesses and to companies that serve the cannabis industry, including firms involved in marketing or legal counsel.

The measure would also stop regulators from terminating or limiting a bank’s deposit insurance solely because it works with cannabis or cannabis-adjacent businesses, or from pressuring a bank to end those services. It would extend protections to hemp and hemp-derived cannabidiol-related businesses as well.

Backers of the legislation say the issue remains significant even as more financial institutions have begun serving the sector. According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s most recent numbers from 2024, 816 banks currently bank cannabis-related businesses. That is only about one-fifth of U.S. banks.

The limited access to banking has historically left cannabis businesses operating in an all-cash or cash-heavy capacity.

"Legal cannabis businesses operating in all-cash is dangerous for our communities - encouraging criminal activity like robberies, money laundering, and organized crime", Merkley said in a prepared statement last week. "It’s past time we ensure legal businesses can access the financial services they need to help keep their employees, their businesses, and their communities safe."

Cannabis legalization at the state level has expanded over the past three decades. California became the first state to legalize cannabis for medical use in 1996. Dozens of states have since followed. Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize cannabis for recreational use in 2012, and 22 states plus the District of Columbia have since joined them.

The banking legislation has a long history in Congress. The foundational bill, then called the Marijuana Business Access to Banking Act, was first introduced in 2013 by Reps. Ed Perlmutter, D-CO, and Danny Heck, D-WA. It evolved into SAFE Banking in 2017 and has passed the House seven times since then, but it has not advanced through the Senate.

The American Bankers Association also voiced support for the bill.

"For years, the conflict between state and federal cannabis laws has left many cannabis businesses operating in cash, creating significant public safety risks in states where it’s been legalized", American Bankers Association President and CEO Rob Nichols said. "The SAFE Banking Act would provide banks with a clear federal safe harbor, allowing them to serve state-legal businesses while increasing transparency for law enforcement and reducing risks to the public."

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