Marijuana Banking Bill Will Be Filed This Session But Is ‘Not Imminent’ Despite Rumors, GOP Congressman’s Office Clarifies

A bipartisan marijuana banking bill is expected to be filed again this session—but that introduction is “not imminent” as some reports have suggested, a spokesperson for the GOP House sponsor of the last version tells Marijuana Moment.

Amid a recent surge of rumors about the timing of a new filing of the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in the 119th Congress, the staffer for Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) reached out to Marijuana Moment on Friday to clarify that there are “certain steps that need to be taken first” before that happens.

“While introduction is not imminent, we hope to have a firmer update on timing within the coming weeks,” they said. “We wanted to make sure you heard it directly from us.”

With Republicans now in control of the House and Senate—and leadership having historically opposed even modest cannabis legislation, including the banking bill—there are open questions about the prospects of advancing marijuana reform this session.

However, some are holding out hope that a measure to allow cannabis industry banking access could move, especially given President Donald Trump’s endorsement of the proposal on the campaign trail.

It’s not clear what’s behind the increased speculation around the timeline for an introduction of the reform legislation. The Democratic Senate sponsor of the last version of a revised Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), recently told Politico that a filing was in the works, but he didn’t offer timing details—nor did Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), who also spoke to the outlet.

But in any case, the spokesperson for Joyce—who serves as co-chair of the Congressional Cannabis Caucus—is proactively tempering expectations about an imminent introduction.

Meanwhile, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) announced last month that it’s convening focus groups comprised of marijuana businesses to better understand their experiences with access to banking services under federal prohibition.

The industry remains frustrated with the lack of progress on the cannabis banking issue under the last administration. Despite repeated pledges to prioritize the reform, the SAFER Banking Act only cleared a Senate committee in September 2023 and never made it to the floor.

A Senate source told Marijuana Moment last month that Republican House and Senate leadership “openly and solely blocked” then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) attempt to include the bill in a government funding bill as the session came to a close.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) had challenged the idea that there was enough GOP support for the SAFER Banking Act to pass on the Senate floor during the lame duck session.

Warren accused certain Republican members of overstating support for the legislation within their caucus, while also taking a hit at Trump for doing “nothing” on cannabis reform during his time in office as he makes a policy pivot ahead of the election by coming out in support of the marijuana banking bill and federal rescheduling.

Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) also recently argued in an interview with Marijuana Moment that the main barrier to getting the marijuana banking bill across the finish line is a lack of sufficient Republican support in the chamber. And he said if Trump is serious about seeing the reform he recently endorsed enacted, he needs to “bring us some Republican senators.”

Prior to becoming House speaker, Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) consistently opposed cannabis reform, including on incremental issues like cannabis banking and making it easier to conduct scientific research on the plant.

Meanwhile, on the one-year anniversary of a Senate committee’s passage of the SAFER Banking Act in September, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released an analysis on the economic impact of the reform, including the likely increase in federally insured deposits from cannabis businesses by billions of dollars once banks receive protections for servicing the industry.

Separately, the CEO of the financial giant JPMorgan Chase said recently that the company “probably would” start providing banking services to marijuana businesses if federal law changed to permit it.

Largest U.S. Bank ‘Probably Would’ Work With Marijuana Businesses If Federal Law Changes, Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Says

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