Conservative Group Circulating 'Model' Marijuana Banking Proposal
The resolution would put state legislatures on record as supporting federal legislation to allow marijuana banking.
A controversial conservative group is circulating a “model” resolution that would put state legislatures on record as supporting federal legislation to allow marijuana banking.
“Congress should enact common-sense federal laws that respect state law and promote public safety without compromising federal enforcement of anti-money laundering laws against criminal enterprises,” the resolution introduced at the American Legislative Exchange Council’s (ALEC) annual meeting earlier this month.
That resolution, one dealing with the legalization of hemp and others now go to the ALEC board, where they soon will be voted on by the ALEC board.
“If approved, the amendments and the model policies will be posted on our website under each task force as a fully approved model policy,” ALEC Public Affairs Director Dan Reynolds told CU Times.
If the past is any indication, those resolutions are likely to be introduced in state legislatures, where they may be voted on—putting those states on record as endorsing federal legislation.
They would have no binding power.
The American Legislative Affairs Council has been roundly criticized for its ties to business groups and for producing model legislation that represent the interests of those groups.
Many of those bills then are introduced verbatim in state legislatures across the country.
A recent analysis by the Center for Public Integrity, USA Today and the Arizona Republic found that thousands of bills with the exact same wording have been introduced in state legislatures.
Still, the group holds great sway with conservative legislators.
In addition to the marijuana banking resolution, at its annual meeting, ALEC also considered draft legislation that would legalize hemp in those states in which it is still illegal, as well as model proposals on many other issues.
“These policies are interesting for ALEC because so many states have decided to legalize cannabis in some form, whether through ballot initiative or legislative action,” Reynolds said. “But businesses are still denied crucial business services due to cannabis’ illegal federal status.”
In the model banking resolution, ALEC said that lacking banking services, “many legal cannabis businesses operate solely in cash, and cash-based systems are inefficient, expensive, opaque, and make illicit activity more difficult for law enforcement and state regulators to track.”