II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1359 To create a safe harbor for insurers engaging in the business of insurance in connection with a cannabis-related legitimate business, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 27, 2023 Mr. MENENDEZ (for himself, Mr. PAUL, Mr. TESTER, Mr. DAINES, and Mr. MERKLEY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and re- ferred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs A BILL To create a safe harbor for insurers engaging in the business of insurance in connection with a cannabis-related legiti- mate business, 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 ‘‘Clarifying Law Around 4 Insurance of Marijuana Act’’ or the ‘‘CLAIM Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. SAFE HARBOR FOR INSURERS AND THE BUSINESS 6 OF INSURANCE. 7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 8 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1359.IS S1359 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1359 IS (1) CANNABIS.—The term ‘‘cannabis’’ has the 1 meaning given the term ‘‘marihuana’’ in section 102 2 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802). 3 (2) CANNABIS PRODUCT.—The term ‘‘cannabis 4 product’’ means any article that contains cannabis, 5 including an article which is a concentrate, an edi- 6 ble, a tincture, a cannabis-infused product, or a top- 7 ical. 8 (3) CANNABIS-RELATED LEGITIMATE BUSI- 9 NESS.—The term ‘‘cannabis-related legitimate busi- 10 ness’’ means a manufacturer, producer, or any per- 11 son or company that— 12 (A) engages in any activity described in 13 subparagraph (B) pursuant to a law established 14 by a State or a political subdivision of a State, 15 as determined by the State or political subdivi- 16 sion; and 17 (B) participates in any business or orga- 18 nized activity that involves handling cannabis or 19 cannabis products, including cultivating, pro- 20 ducing, manufacturing, selling, transporting, 21 displaying, dispensing, distributing, or pur- 22 chasing cannabis or cannabis products. 23 (4) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 24 agency’’— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1359.IS S1359 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1359 IS (A) has the meaning given the term ‘‘Exec- 1 utive agency’’ in section 105 of title 5, United 2 States Code; and 3 (B) includes a private attorney described 4 in section 3002(1)(B) of title 28, United States 5 Code. 6 (5) FINANCIAL SERVICE.—The term ‘‘financial 7 service’’— 8 (A) means a financial product or service, 9 as defined in section 1002 of the Consumer Fi- 10 nancial Protection Act of 2010 (12 U.S.C. 11 5481); and 12 (B) includes— 13 (i) the business of insurance; 14 (ii) whether performed directly or in- 15 directly, the authorizing, processing, clear- 16 ing, settling, billing, transferring for de- 17 posit, transmitting, delivering, instructing 18 to be delivered, reconciling, collecting, or 19 otherwise effectuating or facilitating of 20 payments or funds, where such payments 21 or funds are made or transferred by any 22 means, including by the use of credit 23 cards, debit cards, other payment cards, or 24 other access devices, accounts, original or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1359.IS S1359 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1359 IS substitute checks, or electronic funds 1 transfers; 2 (iii) acting as a money transmitting 3 business that directly or indirectly makes 4 use of a depository institution in connec- 5 tion with effectuating or facilitating a pay- 6 ment for a cannabis-related legitimate 7 business or service provider in compliance 8 with section 5330 of title 31, United 9 States Code, and any applicable State law; 10 and 11 (iv) acting as an armored car service 12 for processing and depositing with a depos- 13 itory institution or a Federal Reserve bank 14 with respect to any monetary instruments, 15 as defined in section 1956(c) of title 18, 16 United States Code. 17 (6) INDIAN COUNTRY.—The term ‘‘Indian coun- 18 try’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1151 19 of title 18, United States Code. 20 (7) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 21 has the meaning given the term in section 102 of the 22 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 23 (25 U.S.C. 479a). 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1359.IS S1359 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1359 IS (8) INSURER.—The term ‘‘insurer’’ has the 1 meaning given the term in section 313(r) of title 31, 2 United States Code. 3 (9) MANUFACTURER.—The term ‘‘manufac- 4 turer’’ means a person or company who manufac- 5 tures, compounds, converts, processes, prepares, or 6 packages cannabis or cannabis products. 7 (10) PRODUCER.—The term ‘‘producer’’ means 8 a person who plants, cultivates, harvests, or in any 9 way facilitates the natural growth of cannabis. 10 (11) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means each of 11 the several States, the District of Columbia, the 12 Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or 13 possession of the United States. 14 (b) INSURERS.—A Federal agency may not— 15 (1) prohibit, penalize, or otherwise discourage 16 an insurer from engaging in the business of insur- 17 ance in connection with— 18 (A) a cannabis-related legitimate business; 19 or 20 (B) a State, political subdivision of a 21 State, or Indian Tribe that exercises jurisdic- 22 tion over cannabis-related legitimate businesses; 23 (2) terminate, cancel, or otherwise limit the 24 policies of an insurer solely because the insurer has 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1359.IS S1359 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1359 IS engaged in the business of insurance in connection 1 with a cannabis-related legitimate business; 2 (3) recommend, incentivize, or encourage an in- 3 surer not to engage in the business of insurance in 4 connection with a policyholder, or downgrade or can- 5 cel the insurance and insurance services offered to a 6 policyholder solely because— 7 (A) the policyholder is— 8 (i) a manufacturer or producer; or 9 (ii) the owner, operator, or employee 10 of a cannabis-related legitimate business; 11 (B) the policyholder later becomes an em- 12 ployee, owner, or operator of a cannabis-related 13 legitimate business; or 14 (C) the insurer was not aware that the pol- 15 icyholder is an employee, owner, or operator of 16 a cannabis-related legitimate business; or 17 (4) take any adverse or corrective supervisory 18 action on a policy to— 19 (A) a cannabis-related legitimate business, 20 solely because the owner or operator owns or 21 operates a cannabis-related legitimate business; 22 (B) an employee, owner, or operator of a 23 cannabis-related legitimate business or service 24 provider, solely because the employee, owner, or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1359.IS S1359 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1359 IS operator is employed by, owns, or operates a 1 cannabis-related legitimate business, as applica- 2 ble; or 3 (C) an owner or operator of real estate or 4 equipment that is leased to a cannabis-related 5 legitimate business, solely because the owner or 6 operator of the real estate or equipment leased 7 the equipment or real estate to a cannabis-re- 8 lated legitimate business, as applicable. 9 (c) PROTECTIONS UNDER FEDERAL LAW.—With re- 10 spect to engaging in the business of insurance within a 11 State, political subdivision of a State, or Indian country 12 that allows the cultivation, production, manufacture, sale, 13 transportation, display, dispensing, distribution, or pur- 14 chase of cannabis pursuant to a law or regulation of such 15 State, political subdivision, or Indian Tribe that has juris- 16 diction over the Indian country, as applicable, an insurer 17 that engages in the business of insurance with a cannabis- 18 related legitimate business or service provider or who oth- 19 erwise engages with a person in a transaction permissible 20 under State law related to cannabis, and the officers, di- 21 rectors, and employees of that insurer may not be held 22 liable pursuant to any Federal law or regulation— 23 (1) solely for engaging in the business of insur- 24 ance; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:56 May 05, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1359.IS S1359 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1359 IS (2) for further investing any income derived 1 from such business of insurance. 2 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 3 shall— 4 (1) require an insurer to engage in the business 5 of insurance in connection with a cannabis-related 6 legitimate business; or 7 (2) interfere with the regulation of the business 8 of insurance in accordance with the Act of March 9, 9 1945 (59 Stat. 33, chapter 20; 15 U.S.C. 1011 et 10 seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘McCarran-Ferguson 11 Act’’), and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and 12 Consumer Protection Act (12 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). 13 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY ON DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION. 14 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 15 States shall carry out a study on the barriers to market- 16 place entry, including in the licensing process, and the ac- 17 cess to financial services for potential and existing minor- 18 ity-owned and women-owned cannabis-related legitimate 19 businesses. 20 (b) REPORT.—The Comptroller General shall submit 21 to Congress a report— 22 (1) containing all findings and determinations 23 made in carrying out the study required under sub- 24 section (a); and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1359.IS S1359 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1359 IS (2) containing any regulatory or legislative rec- 1 ommendations for removing barriers to marketplace 2 entry, including in the licensing process, and ex- 3 panding access to financial services for potential and 4 existing minority-owned and women-owned cannabis- 5 related legitimate businesses. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:35 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1359.IS S1359 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS