S. 1200: SAFE Banking Act of 2019

116th Congress · introduced 2019-04-11 · Finance and Financial Sector · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

federal

Follow this bill, step by step

Where it came from: introduced 2019-04-11 · official record
Who proposed it: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · what a sponsor is
What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.

What does this mean?

Official title

SAFE Banking Act of 2019

Plain summary

Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2019 or the SAFE Banking Act of 2019 This bill generally prohibits a federal banking regulator from penalizing a depository institution for providing banking services to a legitimate marijuana-related business. Specifically, the bill prohibits a federal banking regulator from (1) terminating or limiting the deposit insurance or share insurance of a depository institution solely because the institution provides financial services to a legitimate marijuana-related business; (2) prohibiting or otherwise discouraging a depository institution from offering financial services to such a business; (3) recommending, incentivizing, or encouraging a depository institution not to offer financial services to an account holder solely because the account holder is affiliated with such a business; (4) taking any adverse or corrective supervisory action on a loan made to a person solely because the person either owns such a business or owns real estate or equipment leased or sold to such a business; or (5) penalizing a depository institution for engaging in a financial service for such a business. As specified by the bill, a depository institution or a Federal Reserve bank shall not, under federal law, be liable or subject to forfeiture for providing a loan or other financial services to a legitimate marijuana-related business. The Government Accountability Office must report on (1) access to financial services for minority-owned and women-owned marijuana-related businesses; and (2) the effectiveness of suspicious-transaction reports at finding engagement with organized criminal activity in jurisdictions that allow the cultivation, sale, or distribution of marijuana.

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.

What a vote does

A “Yea” vote

If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.

A “Nay” vote

If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.

PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).

What does this mean? (plain words)

Official text

SAFE Banking Act of 2019

Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)

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The strongest published arguments

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Arguments against (opponents)

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Alternatives

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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes

Officials and money

Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] · 34 cosponsors

Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.

Cosponsors on this site

Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Dan Sullivan (R-AK), Rand Paul (R-KY), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Gary C. Peters (D-MI), Angus S. King, Jr. (I-ME), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Brian Schatz (D-HI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Kirsten E. Gillibrand (D-NY), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

Sponsor's campaign money: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] reported raising $5.4 million (2025–2026). Details. Shown for context only; it does not mean any donor supported this bill.

No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.

Words on this page, explained (1)

Bill: A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).

Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.

Sources

Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
Congress.gov
Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-116s1200.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/116/s>

Record fed-us-cong116-s1200 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong116 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong116