STATE OF NEW JERSEY

SENATE RESOLUTION No. 104

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

218th LEGISLATURE

INTRODUCED OCTOBER 15, 2018

Sponsored by: Senator JOSEPH P. CRYAN District 20 (Union)

SYNOPSIS Urges Congress to pass "Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of

2017." CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

As introduced.

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1 A SENATE RESOLUTION urging Congress to pass the "Secure and

2

Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2017."

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4 WHEREAS, New Jersey, like many other states, allows for the

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production and sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes; and

6 WHEREAS, Marijuana is effective in treating pain, muscle stiffness,

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nausea, lack of appetite, and other symptoms associated with

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serious illnesses like cancer, AIDS, and multiple sclerosis; and

9 WHEREAS, The American College of Physicians, the American Nurses

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Association, the American Academy of HIV Medicine, and the HIV

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Medicine Association are among the major organizations that

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endorse legalizing marijuana for medical purposes; and

13 WHEREAS, Current federal law makes it difficult for persons engaged

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in the medicinal marijuana trade to keep their business's assets in

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banks, since both the persons engaged in the medicinal marijuana

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trade and the banks fear reprisal from the federal government; and

17 WHEREAS, This situation decreases public safety, since the presence

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of large amounts of cash encourages attempts at armed robbery,

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money laundering, and other crimes, and it is inefficient, since it

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necessitates transporting and counting large amounts of cash, which

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are therefore not available to the larger market; and

22 WHEREAS, These problems would be alleviated by the passage of the

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"Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2017;" and

24 WHEREAS, This bill prohibits federal banking regulators from

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terminating or limiting the deposit insurance or share insurance of a

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bank or credit union solely because the bank or credit union

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provides or has provided financial services to a marijuana-related

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business; and

29 WHEREAS, This bill also prohibits federal banking regulators from

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recommending, incentivizing, or encouraging banks to withhold

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financial services from marijuana-related businesses or to

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downgrade or cancel financial services offered to an account holder

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of a marijuana-related business; and

34 WHEREAS, If enacted, this bill would improve the safety of New

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Jersey's residents by eliminating the large sums of cash currently

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involved in the medical marijuana trade, and it would allow New

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Jersey's medicinal marijuana businesses to freely participate in

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banking services in New Jersey, injecting more capital into the

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market; now, therefore,

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BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:

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1. This House respectfully urges the United States Congress to

44 pass the "Secure and Fair Enforcement Banking Act of 2017."

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2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State,

47 shall be transmitted by the Secretary of the Senate to the Majority

48 and Minority Leaders of the United States Senate; the Speaker and

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1 Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives; and

2 every member of Congress elected from this State.

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STATEMENT

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This resolution urges Congress to pass the federal "Secure and

8 Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act of 2017."

9

New Jersey, like many other states, allows for the production and

10 sale of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Marijuana is effective in

11 treating pain, muscle stiffness, nausea, lack of appetite, and other

12 symptoms associated with serious illnesses like cancer, AIDS, and

13 multiple sclerosis. The legalization of medical marijuana has been

14 endorsed by the American College of Physicians, the American

15 Nurses Association, the American Academy of HIV Medicine, the

16 HIV Medicine Association, and many other medical organizations.

17

However, current federal law makes it difficult for persons

18 engaged in the medicinal marijuana trade to keep their business's

19 assets in banks, since both the persons engaged in the medicinal

20 marijuana trade and the banks fear reprisal from the federal

21 government. This causes many people engaged in the medicinal

22 marijuana trade to keep their business assets entirely in cash. This is

23 dangerous, since it encourages armed robbery and other crimes

24 against these businesses. It is also inefficient, since it involves

25 counting and transporting large amounts of cash, and it excludes

26 this capital from the market.

27

The federal "SAFE Banking Act of 2017" would solve these

28 problems by prohibiting federal bank regulators from punishing

29 banks that service marijuana businesses and by prohibiting federal

30 bank regulators from discouraging banks to do business with

31 marijuana companies. This would improve public safety in New

32 Jersey and would allow marijuana businesses to fully utilize the

33 banking services offered in the State.

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