B 26-0032 Legislature · 26th Council Period (2025-2026)

Uniform Special Deposits Act of 2025

The Uniform Special Deposits Act of 2025 establishes clear rules for "special deposits" - funds held at banks for specific purposes where the beneficiary isn't determined until a future event occurs (e.g., escrow for property sales or security deposits). It clarifies how banks must handle these deposits if a depositor goes bankrupt, limits creditors' access to them, and defines when banks can use setoff against unrelated debts. This "opt-in" law directly affects banks, businesses, and individuals using special deposits for commercial, charitable, or personal purposes like escrow, tenant security, or benefit payments. It aims to reduce legal uncertainty that has limited the use of such deposits in commerce.
Bill status signed all 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Jan 2025
Committee Review
Oct 2025
Council Passage
Nov 2025
Signed into Law
Feb 2026
Introduced Jan 7, 2025 Signed Feb 27, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

Engrossment → Enrollment · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill text was converted from an 'Engrossed' version to an 'Enrolled' version, which is the final form approved by the Governor. The substantive legal content, including definitions, scope, and requirements for special deposits, remains unchanged. The primary differences are formatting adjustments, such as capitalizing the chapter title and standardizing the text layout.
TECHNICAL

The chapter title was capitalized from 'Chapter 29A' to 'CHAPTER 29A'.

The introductory statement regarding the bill's purpose was reformatted to remove indentation and hyphens, but the wording is identical.

The definitions section was restructured to remove quotation marks around the section header and adjust line breaks for the final enrolled version.

Floor votes · Council Nov 4, 2025

How they voted

13–0
Passed
Total votes 13
Nov 4, 2025
D Democratic11
11 Yea
100% Yea
I Independent2
2 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
16
Key actions
2
Committee
2
Nov 4, 2025
Council · Passed
Council Vote: pass (13-0)
council
Oct 15, 2025
Legislature · Passed
Committee Mark-up of B26-0032 by the Business and Economic Development Committee
legislature
Jan 21, 2025
Committee
Referred to Committee on Business and Economic Development
legislature
Jan 7, 2025
Introduced
B26-0032 Introduced by Chairman Mendelson at Office of the Secretary
legislature
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Phil Mendelson
Phil Mendelson
DDemocratic
DC
Chairman