July 24 2025.
Michigan Attorney General joined a bipartisan coalition of attorneys general in calling on Congress to pass the SAFER Banking Act of 2025. The coalition submitted a letter (PDF) to congressional leaders urging passage of legislation that would provide legal clarity for banks and financial institutions to serve state-regulated cannabis businesses, addressing critical public safety concerns while improving states’ ability to collect taxes and conduct regulatory oversight. Attorney General Nessel submitted comments urging congressional leaders to pass similar legislation in 2023.
“By reducing the risk of crime and improving tax compliance through access to regulated financial services, the SAFER Banking Act has the ability to enhance both public safety and transparency,” Nessel said. “With billions in revenue, giving cannabis businesses a secure place to bank isn’t just smart policy – it’s common sense.”
The coalition emphasizes that the SAFER Banking Act would not encourage cannabis legalization in states that have chosen not to permit it, nor would it change cannabis’s federal legal status. Instead, the legislation creates a targeted safe harbor allowing depository institutions to provide financial services to covered businesses in states that have implemented laws and regulations ensuring accountability in the cannabis industry.
The letter argues that bringing cannabis commerce into the regulated banking system would enable law enforcement; federal, state, and local tax agencies; and cannabis regulators to more effectively monitor cannabis businesses and their transactions. Compliance with tax laws would be simpler and easier to enforce with regulated tracking of funds in the banking system, resulting in higher tax revenues.
The coalition stresses that the legislation is common-sense, bipartisan, and respects both state sovereignty and the current federal status of cannabis. The SAFER Banking Act addresses specific public policy challenges facing states due to the federal prohibition on banking cannabis-related funds by bringing cash from legal cannabis businesses into the highly regulated banking system, where it will be more transparent to state regulators and law enforcement.
The attorneys general conclude that the legislation will beneficially impact the safety of Americans who live in states where cannabis has been legalized, while enabling economic growth and stability in their respective jurisdictions.
Joining Attorney General Nessel in filing the letter are the attorneys general of Maryland, Ohio, Georgia, the District of Columbia, Alaska, American Samoa, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai’i, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Northern Mariana Islands, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Washington, and West Virginia.
