[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1726 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1726

    To create protections for depository institutions that provide 
   financial services to marijuana-related businesses, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              July 9, 2015

Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Gardner, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Paul, Mr. Wyden, 
 and Mrs. Murray) introduced the following bill; which was read twice 
  and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To create protections for depository institutions that provide 
   financial services to marijuana-related businesses, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Marijuana Businesses Access to 
Banking Act of 2015''.

SEC. 2. SAFE HARBOR FOR DEPOSITORY INSTITUTIONS.

    A Federal banking regulator may not--
                    (1) terminate or limit the deposit insurance or 
                share insurance of a depository institution under the 
                Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1811 et seq.) 
                or the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1751 et 
                seq.) solely because the depository institution 
                provides or has provided financial services to a 
                marijuana-related legitimate business;
                    (2) prohibit, penalize, or otherwise discourage a 
                depository institution from providing financial 
                services to a marijuana-related legitimate business;
                    (3) recommend, incentivize, or encourage a 
                depository institution not to offer financial services 
                to an individual, or to downgrade or cancel the 
                financial services offered to an individual solely 
                because--
                            (A) the individual is a manufacturer or 
                        producer, or is the owner or operator of a 
                        marijuana-related legitimate business;
                            (B) the individual later becomes an owner 
                        or operator of a marijuana-related legitimate 
                        business; or
                            (C) the depository institution was not 
                        aware that the individual is the owner or 
                        operator of a marijuana-related legitimate 
                        business; and
                    (4) take any adverse or corrective supervisory 
                action on a loan to an owner or operator of--
                            (A) a marijuana-related legitimate business 
                        solely because the business owner or operator 
                        is a marijuana-related business; or
                            (B) real estate or equipment that is leased 
                        to a marijuana-related legitimate business 
                        solely because the owner or operator of the 
                        real estate or equipment leased the equipment 
                        or real estate to a marijuana-related 
                        legitimate business.

SEC. 3. PROTECTIONS UNDER FEDERAL LAW.

    (a) In General.--In a State or political subdivision that allows 
the cultivation, production, manufacturing, transportation, display, 
dispensing, distribution, sale, or purchase of marijuana pursuant to a 
law (including regulations) of the State or political subdivision, a 
depository institution and the officers, director, and employees of the 
depository institution that provides financial services to a marijuana-
related legitimate business may not be held liable pursuant to any 
Federal law (including regulations)--
            (1) solely for providing the financial services pursuant to 
        the law (including regulations) of the State or political 
        subdivision; or
            (2) for further investing any income derived from the 
        financial services.
    (b) Forfeiture.--A depository institution that has a legal interest 
in the collateral for a loan made to an owner or operator of a 
marijuana-related legitimate business, or to an owner or operator of 
real estate or equipment that is leased to a marijuana-related 
legitimate business, shall not be subject to criminal, civil, or 
administrative forfeiture of that legal interest pursuant to any 
Federal law for providing the loan.

SEC. 4. RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.

    Nothing in this Act shall require a depository institution to 
provide financial services to a marijuana-related legitimate business.

SEC. 5. REQUIREMENTS FOR FILING SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY REPORTS.

    Section 5318(g) of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
            ``(5) Requirements for marijuana-related businesses.--A 
        financial institution or any director, officer, employee, or 
        agent of a financial institution that reports a suspicious 
        transaction pursuant to a marijuana-related legitimate business 
        (as defined in section 6 of the Marijuana Businesses Access to 
        Banking Act of 2015) shall comply with appropriate guidance 
        issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The 
        Secretary shall ensure that the guidance is consistent with the 
        purpose and intent of the Marijuana Businesses Access to 
        Banking Act of 2015 and does not inhibit the provision of 
        financial services to a marijuana-related legitimate business 
        in a State or political subdivision of a State that has allowed 
        the cultivation, production, manufacturing, transportation, 
        display, dispensing, distribution, sale, or purchase of 
        marijuana pursuant to law or regulation of the State or 
        political subdivision.''.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Depository institution.--The term ``depository 
        institution'' means--
                    (A) a depository institution as defined in section 
                3(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 
                1813(c));
                    (B) a Federal credit union as defined in section 
                101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752); 
                or
                    (C) a State credit union as defined in section 101 
                of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752).
            (2) Federal banking regulator.--The term ``Federal banking 
        regulator'' means each of the Board of Governors of the Federal 
        Reserve System, the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection, 
        the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the 
        Comptroller of the Currency, the National Credit Union 
        Administration, or any Federal agency or department that 
        regulates banking or financial services, as determined by the 
        Secretary of the Treasury.
            (3) Financial service.--The term ``financial service'' 
        means a financial product or service as defined in section 1002 
        of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection 
        Act (12 U.S.C. 5481).
            (4) Manufacturer.--The term ``manufacturer'' means a person 
        who manufactures, compounds, converts, processes, prepares, or 
        packages marijuana or marijuana products.
            (5) Marijuana-related legitimate business.--The term 
        ``marijuana-related legitimate business'' means a manufacturer, 
        producer, or any person that--
                    (A) participates in any business or organized 
                activity that involves handling marijuana or marijuana 
                products, including cultivating, producing, 
                manufacturing, selling, transporting, displaying, 
                dispensing, distributing, or purchasing marijuana or 
                marijuana products; and
                    (B) engages in such activity pursuant to a law 
                established by a State or a political subdivision of a 
                State.
            (6) Marijuana.--The term ``marijuana'' has the meaning 
        given the term ``marihuana'' in section 102 of the Controlled 
        Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).
            (7) Marijuana product.--The term ``marijuana product'' 
        means any article which contains marijuana, including an 
        article which is a concentrate, an edible, a tincture, a 
        marijuana-infused product, or a topical.
            (8) Producer.--The term ``producer'' means a person who 
        plants, cultivates, harvests, or in any way facilitates the 
        natural growth of marijuana.
            (9) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any 
        territory or possession of the United States.
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