# 119-s-4942: SAFE Banking Act of 2026

119-s-4942, SAFE Banking Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-07-30).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4942
- As of: 2026-07-30
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-s-4942
- Congress: 119
- Title: SAFE Banking Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-06-24
- Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR] (D-OR)
- Cosponsors: 7
- Policy area: Finance and Financial Sector
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-07-30

## Summary

**Protects banks and other financial firms that serve state‑sanctioned marijuana and hemp businesses.** It would shield those institutions from certain supervisory penalties, liability, and many forfeiture actions when they follow state law, and require federal agencies to issue updated guidance and exam rules.

## Cosponsors (7)

- Sen. Murkowski, Lisa [R-AK] (R-AK), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Warren, Elizabeth [D-MA] (D-MA), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Daines, Steve [R-MT] (R-MT), 2026-06-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Sullivan, Dan [R-AK] (R-AK), 2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine [D-NV] (D-NV), 2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Cramer, Kevin [R-ND] (R-ND), 2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z
- Sen. Murray, Patty [D-WA] (D-WA), 2026-07-28T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Mortgage access for marijuana income: benefit, high. If enacted, lenders must treat income from state-legal marijuana businesses like other legal income for federally backed 1- to 4-unit mortgages. FHA, VA, USDA, Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac would issue updated guidance within 180 days. Mortgage lenders, servicers, and agencies would not be held liabl…
- Banking rules extended to hemp businesses: benefit, medium. If enacted, federal banking regulators would update hemp banking guidance within 90 days to clarify how banks serve hemp-related legitimate businesses, including payment processing and Bank Secrecy Act compliance. Most of the bill's protections for state-legal marijuana businesses and service provi…
- Guidance for banks serving marijuana businesses: benefit, medium. If enacted, the FFIEC would issue uniform guidance and exam procedures within 180 days for banks that serve state-legal marijuana businesses. Banks could accept legacy cash received in the 90 days before opening an account if the business documents the cash source, the amount is reasonable for expe…
- Definitions and money‑laundering protections: benefit, medium. If enacted, the bill would add clear definitions for terms like 'depository institution', 'financial service', 'State‑sanctioned marijuana business', and 'hemp'. It would also state that proceeds from marijuana activity that fully comply with applicable State or Tribal law would not be treated as u…
- Protections for banks serving marijuana businesses: benefit, medium. If enacted, federal law would bar federal liability solely for banks, insurers, and their officers or staff for providing services to state-legal marijuana businesses. The bill would not force any institution to serve these customers and preserves normal supervisory powers except that regulators ca…

## Related bills

- 119-s-3940: Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development Act
- 119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025
- 119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-s-2426: Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act
- 119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former United States Senator for the State of Kansas.
- 119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewellyn Kyl, former Senator for the State of Arizona.

## Sources
- [119-s-4942 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/4942)

## Related
- [119-s-3940: Access to Fair Financing for Opportunity and Resilient Development Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-3940)
- [119-s-1261: CONNECT for Health Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1261)
- [119-s-1032: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-1032)
- [119-s-2426: Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-2426)
- [119-sres-913: A resolution relating to the death of the Honorable Nancy Kassebaum, former Uni…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-913)
- [119-sres-897: A resolution honoring the life, service, and legacy of the Honorable Jon Llewel…](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-sres-897)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-s-4942 (as of 2026-07-30).