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Legislative Update with Jay Kruse by Jay Kruse, Chief Advocacy Officer Good Morning, The South Dakota Legislature remains in recess this week, as they await action from Governor Noem on a few more bills before they return on Monday. As of this morning Governor Noem has style/form vetoed one bill, HB 1217, an act to promote continued fairness in women’s sports, with 42 more bills waiting on her desk. Senator Cramer Sponsors SAFE Banking Act North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer joined a group of 29 of colleagues to sponsor and introduce the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act earlier this week, after a similarly bipartisan bill was also introduced in the House last week. The legislation aims to provide federal safeguards and protection to credit unions and other financial institutions serving legal cannabis business in their states. We appreciate Senator Cramer’s leadership on the issue, which has gained much more attention in the Dakotas with the recent legalization of medical marijuana in both states. South Dakota also awaits a State Supreme Court decision on the validity of Constitutional Amendment A, which would legalize the recreational use of cannabis for those 21 and over. The SAFE Banking Act would prevent federal banking regulators from: Prohibiting, penalizing or discouraging a financial institution from providing financial services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated cannabis business, or an associated business; Terminating or limiting a financial institution’s federal deposit insurance solely because it is providing services to a state-sanctioned cannabis business or associated business; Recommending or incentivizing a financial institution to halt or downgrade providing any kind of banking services to these businesses; or Taking any action on a loan to an owner or operator of a cannabis-related business. Credit union professionals from both states advocated in support of this legislation during our virtual Hike the Hill meetings which took place over the last two weeks. We look forward to continuing to work with Senator Cramer to gain support from the entire Dakota congressional delegation to help get this very important legislation passed and signed into law. However, there is still a long road ahead even though similar bills have been introduced in the prior session. The SAFE Banking Act did pass through the House in 2019 but couldn’t find similar support in the Senate. As always, don’t hesitate to contact me with any comments or questions at jkruse@dakcu.org.
Legislative Update with Jay Kruse
by Jay Kruse, Chief Advocacy Officer
Good Morning,
The South Dakota Legislature remains in recess this week, as they await action from Governor Noem on a few more bills before they return on Monday. As of this morning Governor Noem has style/form vetoed one bill, HB 1217, an act to promote continued fairness in women’s sports, with 42 more bills waiting on her desk.
Senator Cramer Sponsors SAFE Banking Act
North Dakota Senator Kevin Cramer joined a group of 29 of colleagues to sponsor and introduce the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act earlier this week, after a similarly bipartisan bill was also introduced in the House last week. The legislation aims to provide federal safeguards and protection to credit unions and other financial institutions serving legal cannabis business in their states. We appreciate Senator Cramer’s leadership on the issue, which has gained much more attention in the Dakotas with the recent legalization of medical marijuana in both states. South Dakota also awaits a State Supreme Court decision on the validity of Constitutional Amendment A, which would legalize the recreational use of cannabis for those 21 and over.
The SAFE Banking Act would prevent federal banking regulators from: Prohibiting, penalizing or discouraging a financial institution from providing financial services to a legitimate state-sanctioned and regulated cannabis business, or an associated business; Terminating or limiting a financial institution’s federal deposit insurance solely because it is providing services to a state-sanctioned cannabis business or associated business; Recommending or incentivizing a financial institution to halt or downgrade providing any kind of banking services to these businesses; or Taking any action on a loan to an owner or operator of a cannabis-related business.
Credit union professionals from both states advocated in support of this legislation during our virtual Hike the Hill meetings which took place over the last two weeks.
We look forward to continuing to work with Senator Cramer to gain support from the entire Dakota congressional delegation to help get this very important legislation passed and signed into law. However, there is still a long road ahead even though similar bills have been introduced in the prior session. The SAFE Banking Act did pass through the House in 2019 but couldn’t find similar support in the Senate.
As always, don’t hesitate to contact me with any comments or questions at jkruse@dakcu.org.