[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 862 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 862

   To create a safe harbor for insurers engaging in the business of 
 insurance in connection with a cannabis-related legitimate business, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 18, 2021

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To create a safe harbor for insurers engaging in the business of 
 insurance in connection with a cannabis-related legitimate business, 
                        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 ``Clarifying Law Around Insurance of 
Marijuana Act'' or the ``CLAIM Act''.

SEC. 2. SAFE HARBOR FOR INSURERS AND THE BUSINESS OF INSURANCE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Cannabis.--The term ``cannabis'' has the meaning given 
        the term ``marihuana'' in section 102 of the Controlled 
        Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802).
            (2) Cannabis product.--The term ``cannabis product'' means 
        any article that contains cannabis, including an article which 
        is a concentrate, an edible, a tincture, a cannabis-infused 
        product, or a topical.
            (3) Cannabis-related legitimate business.--The term 
        ``cannabis-related legitimate business'' means a manufacturer, 
        producer, or any person or company that--
                    (A) engages in any activity described in 
                subparagraph (B) pursuant to a law established by a 
                State or a political subdivision of a State, as 
                determined by the State or political subdivision; and
                    (B) participates in any business or organized 
                activity that involves handling cannabis or cannabis 
                products, including cultivating, producing, 
                manufacturing, selling, transporting, displaying, 
                dispensing, distributing, or purchasing cannabis or 
                cannabis products.
            (4) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency''--
                    (A) has the meaning given the term ``Executive 
                agency'' in section 105 of title 5, United States Code; 
                and
                    (B) includes a private attorney described in 
                section 3002(1)(B) of title 28, United States Code.
            (5) Financial service.--The term ``financial service''--
                    (A) means a financial product or service, as 
                defined in section 1002 of the Consumer Financial 
                Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 5481); and
                    (B) includes--
                            (i) the business of insurance;
                            (ii) whether performed directly or 
                        indirectly, the authorizing, processing, 
                        clearing, settling, billing, transferring for 
                        deposit, transmitting, delivering, instructing 
                        to be delivered, reconciling, collecting, or 
                        otherwise effectuating or facilitating of 
                        payments or funds, where such payments or funds 
                        are made or transferred by any means, including 
                        by the use of credit cards, debit cards, other 
                        payment cards, or other access devices, 
                        accounts, original or substitute checks, or 
                        electronic funds transfers;
                            (iii) acting as a money transmitting 
                        business that directly or indirectly makes use 
                        of a depository institution in connection with 
                        effectuating or facilitating a payment for a 
                        cannabis-related legitimate business or service 
                        provider in compliance with section 5330 of 
                        title 31, United States Code, and any 
                        applicable State law; and
                            (iv) acting as an armored car service for 
                        processing and depositing with a depository 
                        institution or a Federal Reserve bank with 
                        respect to any monetary instruments, as defined 
                        in section 1956(c) of title 18, United States 
                        Code.
            (6) Indian country.--The term ``Indian country'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 1151 of title 18, United 
        States Code.
            (7) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the 
        meaning given the term in section 102 of the Federally 
        Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a).
            (8) Insurer.--The term ``insurer'' has the meaning given 
        the term in section 313(r) of title 31, United States Code.
            (9) Manufacturer.--The term ``manufacturer'' means a person 
        or company who manufactures, compounds, converts, processes, 
        prepares, or packages cannabis or cannabis products.
            (10) Producer.--The term ``producer'' means a person who 
        plants, cultivates, harvests, or in any way facilitates the 
        natural growth of cannabis.
            (11) State.--The term ``State'' means each of the several 
        States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto 
        Rico, and any territory or possession of the United States.
    (b) Insurers.--A Federal agency may not--
            (1) prohibit, penalize, or otherwise discourage an insurer 
        from engaging in the business of insurance in connection with--
                    (A) a cannabis-related legitimate business; or
                    (B) a State, political subdivision of a State, or 
                Indian Tribe that exercises jurisdiction over cannabis-
                related legitimate businesses;
            (2) terminate, cancel, or otherwise limit the policies of 
        an insurer solely because the insurer has engaged in the 
        business of insurance in connection with a cannabis-related 
        legitimate business;
            (3) recommend, incentivize, or encourage an insurer not to 
        engage in the business of insurance in connection with a 
        policyholder, or downgrade or cancel the insurance and 
        insurance services offered to a policyholder solely because--
                    (A) the policyholder is--
                            (i) a manufacturer or producer; or
                            (ii) the owner, operator, or employee of a 
                        cannabis-related legitimate business;
                    (B) the policyholder later becomes an employee, 
                owner, or operator of a cannabis-related legitimate 
                business; or
                    (C) the insurer was not aware that the policyholder 
                is an employee, owner, or operator of a cannabis-
                related legitimate business; or
            (4) take any adverse or corrective supervisory action on a 
        policy to--
                    (A) a cannabis-related legitimate business, solely 
                because the owner or operator owns or operates a 
                cannabis-related legitimate business;
                    (B) an employee, owner, or operator of a cannabis-
                related legitimate business or service provider, solely 
                because the employee, owner, or operator is employed 
                by, owns, or operates a cannabis-related legitimate 
                business, as applicable; or
                    (C) an owner or operator of real estate or 
                equipment that is leased to a cannabis-related 
                legitimate business, solely because the owner or 
                operator of the real estate or equipment leased the 
                equipment or real estate to a cannabis-related 
                legitimate business, as applicable.
    (c) Protections Under Federal Law.--With respect to engaging in the 
business of insurance within a State, political subdivision of a State, 
or Indian country that allows the cultivation, production, manufacture, 
sale, transportation, display, dispensing, distribution, or purchase of 
cannabis pursuant to a law or regulation of such State, political 
subdivision, or Indian Tribe that has jurisdiction over the Indian 
country, as applicable, an insurer that engages in the business of 
insurance with a cannabis-related legitimate business or service 
provider or who otherwise engages with a person in a transaction 
permissible under State law related to cannabis, and the officers, 
directors, and employees of that insurer may not be held liable 
pursuant to any Federal law or regulation--
            (1) solely for engaging in the business of insurance; or
            (2) for further investing any income derived from such 
        business of insurance.
    (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall--
            (1) require an insurer to engage in the business of 
        insurance in connection with a cannabis-related legitimate 
        business; or
            (2) interfere with the regulation of the business of 
        insurance in accordance with the Act of March 9, 1945 (59 Stat. 
        33, chapter 20; 15 U.S.C. 1011 et seq.) (commonly known as the 
        ``McCarran-Ferguson Act''), and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street 
        Reform and Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.).

SEC. 3. GAO STUDY ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION.

    (a) Study.--The Comptroller General of the United States shall 
carry out a study on the barriers to marketplace entry, including in 
the licensing process, and the access to financial services for 
potential and existing minority-owned and women-owned cannabis-related 
legitimate businesses.
    (b) Report.--The Comptroller General shall submit to Congress a 
report--
            (1) containing all findings and determinations made in 
        carrying out the study required under subsection (a); and
            (2) containing any regulatory or legislative 
        recommendations for removing barriers to marketplace entry, 
        including in the licensing process, and expanding access to 
        financial services for potential and existing minority-owned 
        and women-owned cannabis-related legitimate businesses.
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