Cannabis banking reform included in latest Congressional COVID relief bill

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled a new $3 trillion coronavirus relief package on Tuesday that includes long-sought banking reform for the legal cannabis industry. While the bill includes more relief for impacted businesses, cannabis companies will not likely be eligible to receive those funds.

The 1,800-page bill, named the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act, or HEROES Act, represents the next phase of COVID-19 relief aimed at helping Americans struggling through the current public health and economic shock.

The bill would:

• Offer hazard pay to health care workers fighting the pandemic
• Send a second $1,200 payment to most taxpayers
• Extend the weekly $600 boost to unemployed workers through January 2021.
• Provide relief to students burdened with college debt
• Bolster state budgets hammered by COVID-19 costs
• Provide safe harbor for banks that serve state-legal cannabis companies