Ensuring Safe Capital Access for All Small Businesses Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2712 To ensure that certain loan programs of the Small Business Administration are made available to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES APRIL 20, 2021 Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ (for herself, Mr. EVANS, Ms. NEWMAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, and Mr. PERLMUTTER) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, the Judiciary, Natural Resources, and Agri- culture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To ensure that certain loan programs of the Small Business Administration are made available to cannabis-related legitimate businesses and service providers, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ensuring Safe Capital 4 Access for All Small Businesses Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2712 IH SEC. 2. DECRIMINALIZATION OF CANNABIS. 1 (a) CANNABIS REMOVED FROM SCHEDULE OF CON- 2 TROLLED SUBSTANCES.—Subsection (c) of schedule I of 3 section 202(c) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 4 U.S.C. 812) is amended— 5 (1) by striking paragraph (10) (relating to mar- 6 ihuana); and 7 (2) by striking paragraph (17) (relating to 8 terahydrocannabinols). 9 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CONTROLLED 10 SUBSTANCES ACT.—The Controlled Substances Act (21 11 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended— 12 (1) in section 102(44) (21 U.S.C. 802(44)), by 13 striking ‘‘marihuana,’’; 14 (2) in section 401(b) (21 U.S.C. 841(b))— 15 (A) in paragraph (1)— 16 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 17 (I) in clause (vi), by inserting 18 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 19 (II) by striking (vii); and 20 (III) by redesignating clause 21 (viii) as clause (vii); 22 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 23 (I) in clause (vi), by inserting 24 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 25 (II) by striking clause (vii); and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2712 IH (III) by redesignating clause 1 (viii) as clause (vii); 2 (iii) in subparagraph (C), in the first 3 sentence, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (A), 4 (B), and (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subpara- 5 graphs (A) and (B)’’; 6 (iv) by striking subparagraph (D); 7 (v) by redesignating subparagraph (E) 8 as subparagraph (D); and 9 (vi) in subparagraph (D)(i), as so re- 10 designated, by striking ‘‘subparagraphs (C) 11 and (D)’’ and inserting ‘‘subparagraph 12 (C)’’; 13 (B) by striking paragraph (4); and 14 (C) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), 15 and (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respec- 16 tively; 17 (3) in section 402(c)(2)(B) (21 U.S.C. 18 842(c)(2)(B)), by striking ‘‘marihuana,’’; 19 (4) in section 403(d)(1) (21 U.S.C. 843(d)(1)), 20 by striking ‘‘marihuana,’’; 21 (5) in section 418(a) (21 U.S.C. 859(a)), by 22 striking the last sentence; 23 (6) in section 419(a) (21 U.S.C. 860(a)), by 24 striking the last sentence; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2712 IH (7) in section 422(d) (21 U.S.C. 863(d))— 1 (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), 2 by striking ‘‘marijuana,’’; and 3 (B) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘, such 4 as a marihuana cigarette,’’; and 5 (8) in section 516(d) (21 U.S.C. 886(d)), by 6 striking ‘‘section 401(b)(6)’’ each place the term ap- 7 pears and inserting ‘‘section 401(b)(5)’’. 8 (c) OTHER CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 9 (1) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM DRUG CONTROL 10 ACT OF 1986.—The National Forest System Drug 11 Control Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 559b et seq.) is 12 amended— 13 (A) in section 15002(a) (16 U.S.C. 14 559b(a)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’; 15 (B) in section 15003(2) (16 U.S.C. 16 559c(2)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’; 17 and 18 (C) in section 15004(2) (16 U.S.C. 19 559d(2)) by striking ‘‘marijuana and other’’. 20 (2) INTERCEPTION OF COMMUNICATIONS.—Sec- 21 tion 2516 of title 18, United States Code, is amend- 22 ed— 23 (A) in subsection (1)(e), by striking ‘‘, 24 marihuana,’’; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2712 IH (B) in subsection (2) by striking ‘‘mari- 1 huana’’. 2 SEC. 3. 7(a) LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE 3 BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 4 Section 7(a) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 5 636(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following 6 new paragraph: 7 ‘‘(38) LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI- 8 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 9 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 10 may not decline to provide a guarantee for a 11 loan under this subsection, and a lender may 12 not decline to make a loan made under this 13 subsection, to an otherwise eligible small busi- 14 ness concern solely because such concern is a 15 cannabis-related legitimate business or service 16 provider. 17 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 18 ‘‘(i) CANNABIS.—The term ‘cannabis’ 19 has the meaning given the term ‘mari- 20 huana’ in section 102 of the Controlled 21 Substances Act. 22 ‘‘(ii) CANNABIS PRODUCT.—The term 23 ‘cannabis product’ means any article which 24 contains cannabis, including an article 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2712 IH which is a concentrate, an edible, a tinc- 1 ture, a cannabis-infused product, or a top- 2 ical. 3 ‘‘(iii) CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI- 4 MATE BUSINESS.—The term ‘cannabis-re- 5 lated legitimate business’ means a manu- 6 facturer, producer, or any person or com- 7 pany that is a small business concern and 8 that— 9 ‘‘(I) engages in any activity de- 10 scribed in subclause (II) pursuant to 11 a law established by a State or a po- 12 litical subdivision of a State, as deter- 13 mined by such State or political sub- 14 division; and 15 ‘‘(II) participates in any business 16 or organized activity that involves 17 handling cannabis or cannabis prod- 18 ucts, including cultivating, producing, 19 manufacturing, selling, transporting, 20 displaying, dispensing, distributing, or 21 purchasing cannabis or cannabis prod- 22 ucts. 23 ‘‘(iv) MANUFACTURER.—The term 24 ‘manufacturer’ means a person who manu- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2712 IH factures, compounds, converts, processes, 1 prepares, or packages cannabis or cannabis 2 products. 3 ‘‘(v) PRODUCER.—The term ‘pro- 4 ducer’ means a person who plants, cul- 5 tivates, harvests, or in any way facilitates 6 the natural growth of cannabis. 7 ‘‘(vi) SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 8 ‘service provider’— 9 ‘‘(I) means a business, organiza- 10 tion, or other person that— 11 ‘‘(aa) sells goods or services 12 to a cannabis-related legitimate 13 business; or 14 ‘‘(bb) provides any business 15 services, including the sale or 16 lease of real or any other prop- 17 erty, legal or other licensed serv- 18 ices, or any other ancillary serv- 19 ice, relating to cannabis; and 20 ‘‘(II) does not include a business, 21 organization, or other person that 22 participates in any business or orga- 23 nized activity that involves handling 24 cannabis or cannabis products, includ- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2712 IH ing cultivating, producing, manufac- 1 turing, selling, transporting, dis- 2 playing, dispensing, distributing, or 3 purchasing cannabis or cannabis prod- 4 ucts. 5 ‘‘(vii) STATE.—The term ‘State’ 6 means each of the several States, the Dis- 7 trict of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any 8 territory or possession of the United 9 States.’’. 10 SEC. 4. DISASTER LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI- 11 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 12 Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 13 636(b)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (15) the 14 following new paragraph: 15 ‘‘(16) ASSISTANCE TO CANNABIS-RELATED LE- 16 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 17 The Administrator may not decline to provide assist- 18 ance under this subsection to an otherwise eligible 19 borrower solely because such borrower is a cannabis- 20 related legitimate business or service provider (as 21 defined in subsection (a)(38)).’’. 22 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2712 IH SEC. 5. MICROLOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE 1 BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 2 Section 7(m) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 3 636(m)(13)) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 4 lowing new paragraph: 5 ‘‘(14) ASSISTANCE TO CANNABIS-RELATED LE- 6 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 7 The Administrator may not decline to make a loan 8 or a grant under this subsection, and an eligible 9 intermediary may not decline to provide assistance 10 under this subsection to an otherwise eligible bor- 11 rower, eligible intermediary, or eligible nonprofit en- 12 tity (as applicable) solely because such borrower, 13 intermediary, or nonprofit entity is a cannabis-re- 14 lated legitimate business or service provider (as de- 15 fined in subsection (a)(38)).’’. 16 SEC. 6. SMALL BUSINESS INVESTMENT COMPANY DEBEN- 17 TURES TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED LE- 18 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PRO- 19 VIDERS. 20 Part A of title III of the Small Business Investment 21 Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 681 et seq.) is amended by adding 22 at the end the following new section: 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2712 IH ‘‘SEC. 321. DEBENTURES TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED 1 LEGITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PRO- 2 VIDERS. 3 ‘‘(a) GUARANTEES.—The Administrator may not de- 4 cline to purchase or guarantee a debenture made under 5 this title to an otherwise eligible small business investment 6 company solely because such small business investment 7 company provides financing to an entity that is a can- 8 nabis-related legitimate business or service provider (as 9 defined in section 7(a)(38) of the Small Business Act). 10 ‘‘(b) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—A small business invest- 11 ment company may not decline to provide assistance under 12 this title to an otherwise eligible small business concern 13 solely because such small business concern is a cannabis- 14 related legitimate business or service provider (as defined 15 in section 7(a)(38) of the Small Business Act).’’. 16 SEC. 7. STATE OR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LOANS 17 TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI- 18 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 19 Title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 20 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 21 the following new section: 22 ‘‘SEC. 511. LOANS TO FINANCE CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI- 23 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 24 ‘‘(a) LOANS AND LOAN GUARANTEES.—The Admin- 25 istrator may not decline to make or provide a guarantee 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2712 IH for a loan under this title to an otherwise eligible qualified 1 State or local development company solely because such 2 qualified State or local development company provides fi- 3 nancing to an entity that is a cannabis-related legitimate 4 business or service provider (as defined in section 7(a)(38) 5 of the Small Business Act). 6 ‘‘(b) OTHER ASSISTANCE.—A qualified State or local 7 development company may not decline to provide assist- 8 ance under this title to an otherwise eligible small business 9 concern solely because such small business concern is a 10 cannabis-related legitimate business or service provider (as 11 defined in section 7(a)(38) of the Small Business Act).’’. 12 SEC. 8. RULEMAKING. 13 Not later than 120 days after the date of the enact- 14 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business 15 Administration shall issue or amend any rules, standard 16 operating procedures, other legal or policy guidance nec- 17 essary to carry out the requirements of this Act and the 18 amendments made by this Act. 19 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Jun 02, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2712.IH H2712 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS