SAFE Banking Act

The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act, renamed the SAFER Banking Act (Secure and Fair Enforcement Regulation) in the 118th Congress, is proposed federal legislation that would provide a safe harbor for depository institutions, insurers, and ancillary service providers that serve state-legal cannabis businesses. It would bar federal banking regulators from penalizing or discouraging institutions for serving compliant cannabis operators and would prohibit treating proceeds of state-legal cannabis activity as illegal under federal money-laundering statutes for regulated-institution purposes. The bill has never become law. The House passed versions seven times between 2019 and 2022 under Democratic leadership; in the 118th Congress, S. 2860 advanced out of the Senate Banking Committee 14–9 on September 27, 2023, but never received a floor vote. As of April 2026, neither chamber has reintroduced SAFE or SAFER Banking in the 119th Congress. Senate Banking Committee Chair Tim Scott (R-SC) and Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) both oppose the bill; a July 2025 letter from 32 state and territorial attorneys general urging action produced no legislative response. The continued absence of banking access forces state-legal cannabis commerce to operate largely on a cash basis, creating public-safety, tax-collection, and oversight problems. *→ See also: → see also [Part 7]: Cannabis Banking, 280E