On September 27, the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee passed the latest version of the Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation (SAFER) Banking Act, the cannabis safe harbor bill (S. 2860), by a vote of 14 to 9. PIA has long supported the SAFE Banking Act, its predecessor, which was recently revised and reintroduced as the SAFER Banking Act of 2023, also with PIA’s support. The new bill changed non-insurance portions of the legislation to garner greater support for its final passage. Ahead of the markup, PIA, along with other insurance industry groups, sent a letter reiterating our support for the legislation.
PIA strongly supports this bill, which would protect insurance agents and carriers from the threat of federal prosecution for providing insurance products to cannabis-related businesses in states where cannabis is legal. Initially conceived as a banking bill, the SAFER Banking Act includes insurance protections for agents, brokers, and insurers. By resolving some of the legal uncertainty presented by the dueling state and federal treatment of marijuana, the insurance industry can serve both state-sanctioned cannabis businesses and other commercial and personal lines consumers who may have a direct or indirect relationship with state-legalized cannabis, while remaining compliant with applicable state and federal insurance laws and regulations.
PIA has been a leading advocate for independent insurance agents facing the specter of federal prosecution for doing business with cannabis-related enterprises in states where such businesses are legal. With most states having legalized cannabis use to some degree, the changing landscape of state law on this issue requires independent agents that engage in the business of insurance with entities compliant with state law to be protected from prosecution by the federal government. At the same time, PIA does not take a position on the legalization of cannabis and views this issue strictly a matter of respecting state insurance law.
Cannabis safe harbor legislation previously passed the House four times in the last Congress, but each time, it stalled in the Senate. Today’s passage of the SAFER Banking Act by the Senate Banking Committee is an encouraging step, but issues unrelated to insurance could still preclude the bill’s final passage.
PIA urges the 118th Congress to pass the SAFER Banking Act of 2023 to protect insurance agents who sell their products to cannabis-related businesses in states where cannabis is legal.