Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 (Section 5) - All Filers Are Required to Complete This Page

9. Check if this filing amends a previously filed version of this report

LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.

15. General issue area code BAN

16. Specific lobbying issues

For the safety of our employees and our communities, CCIA has worked to ensure the SAFE Banking Act remains part of COVID relief and becomes law.

The SAFE Banking passed out of the House on two occasions. The first was standalone bill H.R. 1595 and the second as part of the Heroes Act (H.R. 6800), however this bill is yet to be passed by the Senate and signed into law.

CCIA wants to make sure that this important piece of legislation is part of a final, negotiated COVID package. We need SAFE Banking to ensure that BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) owned businesses, especially those owned by women, have equitable access to funding. Most notably, BIPOC owners who have been most adversely impacted by the pandemic compared to their white counterparts. Below are just some reasons among many that stress the importance of this relief.

● Los Angeles social equity program, one of the few in the state, was designed to promote equitable ownership in the cannabis industry, but this program has had considerable challenges due to an imbalance of wealth. Although it was intended that Social Equity applicants have the opportunity to be first to market, a group of said applicants were forced to file a lawsuit to achieve fairness in a flawed process, which has now been settled. This is just the first step in an attempt to achieve equity. The majority of Social Equity applicants have not been able to afford the delayed process, nor the start-up costs associated with launching a cannabis business.

● BIPOC operators lack access to the capital that is essential to start cannabis businesses, so establishing loan programs would help with this burden. However, even if the SBA were to set up a loan program, this could not be effectuated without access to banks.

● Unfortunately, in the states that have equity programs written into their cannabis statutes, BIPOC owners fall prey to predatory business arrangements in which larger cannabis companies will be effectively running the businesses through a management services agreement while the BIPOC owner becomes a figurehead.

● Women and BIPOC face significant barriers to accessing investment dollars. Every year women of color get less than 1% of total venture capital funding. Further, data from 2019 indicates that only 200 Latinx and Black individuals nationwide were able to raise over $1 million in venture capital. This number is for all industries, not just cannabis.

● The bill is unquestionably part of a holistic approach to ending the War on Drugs, and its devastating effects on communities of color. The longer that BIPOC entrepreneurs have to wait to enter this industry, the greater disadvantage they are at because of larger companies ability to build their brands and customer loyalty.

● SAFE Banking reduces cash motivated crimes. Cannabis businesses and employees are routinely targeted, robbed and sometimes attacked because of the large amounts of cash that they are forced to deal with.

● Lastly, SAFE Banking as included in the Heroes Act (H.R 6800) calls for two diversity studies for the cannabis industry. While these studies will largely tell us what we currently know (that non-white representation in the industry is disproportionately low), this will create an important baseline for future conversations around legalization and ensuring the industry is equitable.

We cannot hope to repair our communities through reinvestment without the appropriate tools, including SAFE Banking. The events of recent months have shown us that this bill is more important than ever. We urge its swift passage to help our economy and our communities.

17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, U.S. SENATE

18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area

19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None

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LOBBYING ACTIVITY. Select as many codes as necessary to reflect the general issue areas in which the registrant engaged in lobbying on behalf of the client during the reporting period. Using a separate page for each code, provide information as requested. Add additional page(s) as needed.

15. General issue area code GOV

16. Specific lobbying issues

The Marijuana Opportunity and Reinvestment Act (MORE Act, H.R. 3884).

Since the passage of the Controlled Substances Act 50 years ago, Congress has never addressed the scheduling of cannabis. For far too long, cannabis has been inappropriately classified creating criminal penalties for consumers and businesses alike.


The MORE Act, among other areas, would remove cannabis from the Controlled Substances Act, federally decriminalizing the substance. Under the MORE Act, California would still be able to make decisions about its cannabis marketplace, but our businesses would no longer be subject to federal barriers like access to banking or tax payments under 280E. More importantly, cannabis offenses would no longer exist at the federal level, opening the door for countless individuals to expunge and clear their criminal records. The MORE Act also establishes an equity grant fund for state level efforts to end the War on Drugs.

17. House(s) of Congress and Federal agencies Check if None

U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

18. Name of each individual who acted as a lobbyist in this issue area

19. Interest of each foreign entity in the specific issues listed on line 16 above Check if None

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Information Update Page - Complete ONLY where registration information has changed.

20. Client new address

21. Client new principal place of business (if different than line 20)

22. New General description of client’s business or activities

LOBBYIST UPDATE

23. Name of each previously reported individual who is no longer expected to act as a lobbyist for the client

ISSUE UPDATE

24. General lobbying issue that no longer pertains

AFFILIATED ORGANIZATIONS

25. Add the following affiliated organization(s)

Internet Address:

26. Name of each previously reported organization that is no longer affiliated with the registrant or client

FOREIGN ENTITIES

27. Add the following foreign entities:

28. Name of each previously reported foreign entity that no longer owns, or controls, or is affiliated with the registrant, client or affiliated organization

CONVICTIONS DISCLOSURE

29. Have any of the lobbyists listed on this report been convicted in a Federal or State Court of an offense involving bribery, extortion, embezzlement, an illegal kickback, tax evasion, fraud, a conflict of interest, making a false statement, perjury, or money laundering?
No Yes