Marijuana Banking Bill Excluded From Year-End Spending Bill
- Provision would have opened banking to legal pot businesses
- Pot bill fell short of support as lawmakers make year-end dash
A customer pays for recreational marijuana products in Chicago, Illinois.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Legislation to open banking services to marijuana businesses was left out of a must-pass government funding package, ending a year-end effort to move it to President Joe Biden’s desk, a person familiar with the decision said.
The bill’s Senate sponsors, Oregon Democrat Jeff Merkley and Montana Republican Steve Daines, had pushed to include a version of the SAFE Banking Act in the roughly $1.7 trillion funding measure but ultimately it did not make the cut. This is the third failed attempt this year to get the measure passed with a larger package.