Ensuring Safe Capital Access for All Small Businesses Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3540 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 JUNE 27, 2019 Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Small Business, and in addition to the Committees on Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources, Agriculture, and the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the com- mittee 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 2019’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3540 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 ‘‘Marihuana’’; and 6 (2) by striking ‘‘Tetrahydrocannabinols’’ 7 and renumbering accordingly. 8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS TO CONTROLLED 9 SUBSTANCES ACT.—The Controlled Substances Act (21 10 U.S.C. 801 et seq.) is amended— 11 (1) in section 102(44) (21 U.S.C. 802(44)), by 12 striking ‘‘marihuana,’’; 13 (2) in section 401(b) (21 U.S.C. 841(b))— 14 (A) in paragraph (1)— 15 (i) in subparagraph (A)— 16 (I) in clause (vi), by inserting 17 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 18 (II) by striking (vii); and 19 (III) by redesignating clause 20 (viii) as clause (vii); 21 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 22 (I) in clause (vi), by inserting 23 ‘‘or’’ after the semicolon; 24 (II) by striking clause (vii); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3540 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 03:37 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3540 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 03:37 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3540 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 ‘‘(36) 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 to an otherwise eligi- 12 ble small business concern solely because such 13 concern is a cannabis-related legitimate busi- 14 ness or service provider. 15 ‘‘(B) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 16 ‘‘(i) CANNABIS.—The term ‘cannabis’ 17 has the meaning given the term ‘mari- 18 huana’ in section 102 of the Controlled 19 Substances Act. 20 ‘‘(ii) CANNABIS PRODUCT.—The term 21 ‘cannabis product’ means any article which 22 contains cannabis, including an article 23 which is a concentrate, an edible, a tinc- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3540 IH ture, a cannabis-infused product, or a top- 1 ical. 2 ‘‘(iii) CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI- 3 MATE BUSINESS.—The term ‘cannabis-re- 4 lated legitimate business’ means a manu- 5 facturer, producer, or any person or com- 6 pany that is a small business concern and 7 that— 8 ‘‘(I) engages in any activity de- 9 scribed in subclause (II) pursuant to 10 a law established by a State or a po- 11 litical subdivision of a State, as deter- 12 mined by such State or political sub- 13 division; and 14 ‘‘(II) participates in any business 15 or organized activity that involves 16 handling cannabis or cannabis prod- 17 ucts, including cultivating, producing, 18 manufacturing, selling, transporting, 19 displaying, dispensing, distributing, or 20 purchasing cannabis or cannabis prod- 21 ucts. 22 ‘‘(iv) MANUFACTURER.—The term 23 ‘manufacturer’ means a person who manu- 24 factures, compounds, converts, processes, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3540 IH prepares, or packages cannabis or cannabis 1 products. 2 ‘‘(v) PRODUCER.—The term ‘pro- 3 ducer’ means a person who plants, cul- 4 tivates, harvests, or in any way facilitates 5 the natural growth of cannabis. 6 ‘‘(vi) SERVICE PROVIDER.—The term 7 ‘service provider’— 8 ‘‘(I) means a business, organiza- 9 tion, or other person that— 10 ‘‘(aa) sells goods or services 11 to a cannabis-related legitimate 12 business; or 13 ‘‘(bb) provides any business 14 services, including the sale or 15 lease of real or any other prop- 16 erty, legal or other licensed serv- 17 ices, or any other ancillary serv- 18 ice, relating to cannabis; and 19 ‘‘(II) does not include a business, 20 organization, or other person that 21 participates in any business or orga- 22 nized activity that involves handling 23 cannabis or cannabis products, includ- 24 ing cultivating, producing, manufac- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3540 IH turing, selling, transporting, dis- 1 playing, dispensing, distributing, or 2 purchasing cannabis or cannabis prod- 3 ucts. 4 ‘‘(vii) STATE.—The term ‘State’ 5 means each of the several States, the Dis- 6 trict of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and any 7 territory or possession of the United 8 States.’’. 9 SEC. 4. DISASTER LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITI- 10 MATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 11 Section 7(b) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 12 636(b)) is amended by inserting after paragraph (15) the 13 following new paragraph: 14 ‘‘(16) ASSISTANCE TO CANNABIS-RELATED LE- 15 GITIMATE BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS.— 16 The Administrator may not decline to provide assist- 17 ance under this subsection to an otherwise eligible 18 borrower solely because such borrower is a cannabis- 19 related legitimate business or service provider (as 20 defined in subsection (a)(36)).’’. 21 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3540 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 An eligible intermediary may not decline to provide 8 assistance under this subsection to an otherwise eli- 9 gible borrower solely because such borrower is a can- 10 nabis-related legitimate business or service provider 11 (as defined in subsection (a)(36)).’’. 12 SEC. 6. STATE OR LOCAL DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LOANS 13 TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE BUSI- 14 NESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 15 Title V of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 16 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end 17 the following new section: 18 ‘‘SEC. 511. LOANS TO CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE 19 BUSINESSES AND SERVICE PROVIDERS. 20 ‘‘The Administrator may not decline to provide a 21 guarantee for a loan under this title to an otherwise eligi- 22 ble State or local development company solely because 23 such State or local development company provides financ- 24 ing to an entity that is a cannabis-related legitimate busi- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3540 IH ness or service provider (as defined in section 7(a)(36) of 1 the Small Business Act).’’. 2 SEC. 7. RULEMAKING. 3 Not later than 120 days after the date of the enact- 4 ment of this Act, the Administrator of the Small Business 5 Administration shall issue or amend any rules, standard 6 operating procedures, other legal or policy guidance nec- 7 essary to carry out the requirements of this Act and the 8 amendments made by this Act. 9 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:37 Jul 09, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H3540.IH H3540 dlhill on DSKBBY8HB2PROD with BILLS