october 28, 2020
october 22, 2020
October 19, 2020
october 15, 2020
october 12, 2020
october 8, 2020
october 5, 2020
september 22, 2020
september 21, 2020
September 11, 2020
august 4, 2020
july 6, 2020
july 1, 2020
- PPP Loan Deadline May Be Extended as SBA Issues New Rules Relating to Loan Forgiveness and Eligibility
- California Looks to Pass Legislation Concerning Business Interruption Coverage Due to COVID-19
June 29, 2020
June 22, 2020
- PPP Loan Forgiveness Application Forms Updated and Streamlined
- Nevada Division of Insurance to Disallow Policy Exclusions Related to COVID-19
- CDI Announces New Order Regarding Workers’ Compensation Premium Savings for CA Businesses Affected by COVID-19
june 15, 2020
june 10, 2020
- Note to the SBA: Debtors in Bankruptcy Are Eligible for PPP Loans
- California Modifies the Tolling of Statutes of Limitations in Civil Cases
june 8, 2020
June 4, 2020
may 29, 2020
may 28, 2020
may 27, 2020
- Hoteliers Beware: a Return to Business Post-Pandemic Brings With It Potential Legal Liability
- House Contemplates Revisions to the Paycheck Protection Program
may 15, 2020
may 14, 2020
- U.S. House Democrats Introduce HEROES Act, a New $3T Stimulus Package
- SAFE Banking Act for Cannabis-Related Businesses Included in the HEROES Act
may 12, 2020
may 8, 2020
- Treasury and the SBA Issue Guidance Regarding the Employee Retention Credit
- Businesses Reopen in Los Angeles County as Stage 2 of California’s Statewide Plan Begins
- Update: Large Employers Required to Pay Coronavirus-Related Sick Leave Under New L.A. County Ordinance
may 6, 2020
- SBA Extends PPP Certification Safe Harbor to May 14
- EPLI Insurance and Employee Benefits in the Age of the Coronavirus
may 5, 2020
- Update: PPP Guidance Issued by the SBA and U.S. Treasury at Odds With the CARES Act—Michelman & Robinson Files First-of-Its-Kind Lawsuit Challenging FAQs
- NAIC Issues Business Interruption Data Call in the Wake of COVID-19
may 4, 2020
may 1, 2020
april 29, 2020
- Planning for Your Employees' Return to the Workplace
- Los Angeles Hospitality Workers Among Those Thrown a Potential Lifeline
april 24, 2020
- Attention Cannabis Businesses: Hope May Be on the Horizon for Federal COVID-19-Related Relief
- California Department of Insurance Issues Notice Granting Tax-Filing Extension in Response to COVID-19
- SEC Approves Amendments to Nasdaq and NYSE Continued Listing Requirements Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic
April 23, 2020
april 21, 2020
- Additional Funding Is on the Way to Resurrect the PPP
- Certifying Your PPP Loan: Proceed With Caution
april 17, 2020
april 16, 2020
- Employment in the Wake of Coronavirus: EEOC and OSHA Guidance Allows Employers to Go Where They Could Not Go Before
- New Yorkers Ordered to Stay at Home Even Longer Amid the COVID-19 Crisis
- Paycheck Protection Program Funds Exhausted
april 15, 2020
April 14, 2020
- Insurance Companies Have Been Ordered to Provide COVID-19-Related Premium Relief to Businesses and Drivers in California
- What to Do If Your New York Business Has Been Deemed Non-Essential
APRIL 13, 2020
- IP Deadlines and Fees Extended Under the CARES Act
- Employment in the Wake of Coronavirus: Reintegrating Your Workforce in the New Normal
APRIL 10, 2020
- You Successfully Applied for and Received a PPP Loan Under the CARES Act: Now What?
- Safer at Home Order in L.A. Extended to May 15
- Maintaining Your Trade Secrets During the Coronavirus Crisis
APRIL 9, 2020
april 8, 2020
- Congress Looks to Bolster the PPP With Another $250B in Funding
- U.S. Treasury Provides Further Guidance to PPP Borrowers and Lenders
- L.A. Mayor Amends COVID-19-Related Paid Sick Leave Ordinance
april 7, 2020
April 3, 2020
april 2, 2020
april 1, 2020
March 31, 2020
march 30, 2020
- Large Employers Required to Pay Coronavirus-Related Sick Leave Under New L.A. Ordinance
- Insurance Coverage Potentially Triggered by COVID-19
- Attention Insurers: CDI Orders Mandatory Call for Business Interruption Coverage Information in the Wake of COVID-19
- DOL Is Requiring Employers to Post Families First Employee Rights Notice
March 27, 2020
- A Comprehensive Guide to Understanding Coronavirus-Related State Assistance Programs: Who is Giving What to Whom (Part II)
- HHS Relaxing Enforcement of HIPAA to Facilitate Sharing of Information During the COVID-19 Crisis
March 26, 2020
march 25, 2020
march 24, 2020
- Navigating the Coronavirus Pandemic: a Critical Business Review Checklist
- SBA Loans for Companies Impacted by Coronavirus
- SEC Relaxes Federal Proxy Rules for Annual Meetings
march 23, 2020
- Federal Reserve Responds Boldly to Coronavirus-Related Economic Downturn
- The Number of Jurisdictions Implementing Stay-at-Home Orders Is Increasing Exponentially
- Michelman & Robinson’s Guide to Coronavirus-Related Paid Sick Leave and Unemployment Insurance Laws in the Tri-State Area
MARCH 21, 2020
MARCH 20, 2020
- New York Governor’s PAUSE Order
- Illinois Governor’s Statewide Stay-at-Home Order
- Force Majeure Clauses in Commercial Real Estate Contracts
MARCH 19, 2020
- SEC Provides Regulatory Relief for Public Reporting Companies
- Student Loan Borrowers Can Breathe a Sigh of Relief, At Least Temporarily
- California Governor's Statewide Stay-At-Home Order
MARCH 18, 2020
- "Shelter in Place" Orders
- Telecommuting in the Age of Coronavirus
- Families First Coronavirus Response Act Just Passed by the Senate and Signed Into Law by the President
MARCH 17, 2020
MARCH 16, 2020
MARCH 5, 2020
SAFE Banking Act for Cannabis-Related Businesses Included in the HEROES Act
Michelman & Robinson previously reported that federal assistance could be on the horizon for legitimate cannabis-related businesses and their service providers in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. If Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have their way, that help could come sooner rather than later, as legislators have baked provisions into the pending HEROES Act aimed at providing cannabusiness's access to financial services, like banking.
Included in the HEROES ACT—discussed in a separate M&R alert distributed along with this one—is the SAFE Banking Act, which M&R breaks down in question and answer form.
Q. What is the SAFE Banking Act of 2020?
A. The Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act was approved and passed by the House in September 2019, though never passed in the Senate. The legislation is restated in the HEROES Act, and if signed into law, the way would be cleared for legal cannabis-related businesses to operate outside a cash-only world.
The SAFE Banking Act seeks to create protections for depository institutions that provide financial services to legitimate cannabusinesses, which would be a welcomed event for players in the cannabis industry who, until now, have been typically barred from opening bank accounts because their financial institutions could be subject to penalties and enforcement actions from the federal government for servicing them.
Q. Can federal banks currently provide financial services to cannabis-related businesses?
A. No, they cannot, which is why the SAFE Banking Act is so critical to legal cannabis operators. If Congress passes the proposed legislation and it is signed into law, federal banking regulators will not be allowed to terminate or limit the deposit insurance or share insurance of any depository institution (read: banks), or take any other adverse action against them for providing financial services to legitimate cannabis-related businesses or service providers.
More specifically, if the SAFE Banking Act is enacted, federal banking regulators could not:
- Prohibit, penalize, or otherwise discourage a depository institution from providing financial services to a legal cannabis-related business
- Recommend, incentivize, or encourage a depository institution not to offer financial services to an account holder (or to downgrade or cancel these financial services) because the account holder is, or is related to, a legal cannabis operation
- Take any adverse or corrective supervisory action on a loan made to legitimate cannabis businesses or those affiliated with a cannabusiness, such as an owner, employee, operator, or lessor
Q. Does the SAFE Banking Act included within the HEROES Act protect businesses ancillary to the cannabis industry?
A. Yes, the SAFE Banking Act also provides a safe harbor under federal law for ancillary businesses involved in the legal cannabis trade. Pursuant to the bill, proceeds earned by such businesses will not be considered derived from unlawful activity solely because they involved cannabis-related business or activities.
Q. What types of financial service companies does the SAFE Banking Act seek to protect?
A. The SAFE Banking Act provides protections to depository institutions, insurers, and federal reserve and federal home loan banks that offer financial services to cannabusinesses, so long as those companies are located in jurisdictions where the cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, transportation, display, dispensing, distribution, or purchase of cannabis is legal.
Q. Does the SAFE Banking Act contemplate hemp and CBD products?
A. Yes, the legislation instructs federal banking regulators to issue guidance confirming the legality of hemp, hemp-derived CBD products, and other hemp-derived cannabinoid products. Such guidance is to also cover the legality of engaging in financial services with businesses selling hemp-derived items in light of the enactment of the Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018, which legalized the regulated production of hemp.
Further, the safe harbors included in the SAFE Banking Act specifically apply to hemp, including hemp-derived cannabidiol and other hemp-derived cannabinoid products, in the same manner as they apply to cannabis.
Q. How likely is it that the SAFE Banking Act will be passed by Congress?
A. Cutting to the chase, passage does not seem terribly likely given the response of Senate Republicans to the HEROES Act, together with their recent action—make that inaction—in connection with the prior attempt to pass the cannabis-related law.
Last year, when the SAFE Banking Act was a stand-alone bill, it made history by becoming the first legislation of its kind to be passed by a House floor vote. It did so with strong bipartisan support—nearly half of House Republicans joined the near-unanimous support from their Democratic counterparts. Unfortunately, the bill moved to the Senate and languished there in the face of Republican resistance to easing regulations as they pertain to cannabis.
Now that the SAFE Banking Act has been resurrected as part of the HEROES Act, passage in the Senate continues to be doubtful. That is because the Senate does not seem keen on passing the overall bill that includes the cannabis-facing legislation, given the reluctance of many GOP Senators to add to an already massive debt in the U.S. Consequently, the SAFE Banking Act becoming law is far from a safe bet, especially in the absence of compromise on the HEROES Act.
We are working diligently to keep our clients up to date on coronavirus-related developments. Nevertheless, these developments are changing daily and, in some cases even hourly, so it is important that you make sure you are dealing with the most current information. That being said, this alert is not offered, and should not be relied on, as legal advice. You should consult an attorney for guidance and counsel regarding any specific concern or situation.