A Delaware Senate committee has passed a House-approved bill that would enact state-level protections for banks that provide services to licensed marijuana businesses.
The bill, filed by Rep. Ed Osienski (D) and Sen. Trey Paradee (D), has the endorsement of state Treasurer Colleen Davis (D). It cleared the House of Representatives last month and advanced through the Senate Health & Social Services Committee on Wednesday.
The measure is designed to clarify that banks, credit unions, armored car services and accounting services providers are not subject to state-level prosecution simply for working with cannabis businesses.
Pardee said during Wednesday’s hearing that the lack of access to financial services for cannabis businesses has been a “problem that has plagued the cannabis industry since California became the first state to have medical marijuana in 1996.”
“This is really a public safety issue,” he said. “We do not want any of the the current medical cannabis providers or the coming recreational cannabis providers to struggle with that issue.”
The bill synopsis says that it “aims to facilitate the operation of cannabis-related businesses by helping to ensure that such businesses have access to necessary financial and accounting services.”
Meanwhile, separate legislation to significantly expand Delaware’s medical marijuana program was sent to the governor’s desk last month. Like the banking measure, that bill was also sponsored by Osienski, who
