The Senate Banking Committee is meeting on Wednesday for a much-anticipated vote on a bipartisan marijuana banking bill that will decide if it advances to the floor.
Members will vote on the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, sponsored by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Steve Daines (R-MT), one week after it was filed with revisions that were meant to bolster its bipartisan buy-in.
The committee is expected to adopt several technical, clean-up changes that are considered to be non-controversial. But several senators are also reportedly planning to file additional amendments on issues such as cannabis industry access to stock exchanges, banking regulations aimed at preventing discriminatory enforcement, broad justice-focused marijuana reform and more.
Watch the Banking Committee markup of the SAFER Banking Act in the video below:
The road to Wednesday’s vote has been bumpy. While the House has passed earlier versions of the legislation several times, this marks the first time the Senate has taken the lead—and bipartisan negotiations have proved trying.
Leadership aimed to move the bill through committee in July, but disagreements over provisions related to broad banking regulations shot that timeline down. Then, over the August recess, lawmakers drafted a revised version, with
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