Indiana Bailable Offenses and Substantial Risk Standard Amendment (2026)
| Indiana Bailable Offenses and Substantial Risk Standard Amendment | |
|---|---|
|
|
|
| Election date |
|
| Topic Bail policy and Criminal trials |
|
| Status Proposed |
|
| Type Legislatively referred constitutional amendment |
Origin |
The Indiana Bailable Offenses and Substantial Risk Standard Amendment may appear on the ballot in Indiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 3, 2026.[1]
The amendment would provide that offenses, other than murder or treason, are bailable "unless the accused poses a substantial risk to any other person or the community" if the presumption is strong and the state proves that no condition of release will protect the community.[1]
Text of measure
The full text of the measure is available here.
Path to the ballot
Amending the Indiana Constitution
- See also: Amending the Indiana Constitution
A simple majority vote is required during two successive legislative sessions for the Indiana State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 51 votes in the Indiana House of Representatives and 26 votes in the Indiana State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.
Senate Joint Resolution 1 (2023-2024)
The following is the timeline of the constitutional amendment in the state legislature:[2]
- January 9, 2023: The constitutional amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1).
- April 6, 2023: The Indiana House of Representatives voted 70-19 to pass an amended version of the constitutional amendment.
- April 13, 2023: The Indiana State Senate voted 38-9 to pass the amended version of the constitutional amendment.
| Votes Required to Pass: 26 | |||
| Yes | No | NV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 38 | 9 | 3 |
| Total % | 76.0% | 18.0% | 6.0% |
| Democratic (D) | 0 | 9 | 1 |
| Republican (R) | 38 | 0 | 2 |
| Votes Required to Pass: 51 | |||
| Yes | No | NV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 70 | 19 | 11 |
| Total % | 70.0% | 19.0% | 11.0% |
| Democratic (D) | 11 | 16 | 3 |
| Republican (R) | 59 | 3 | 8 |
Senate Joint Resolution 1 (2025-2026)
The following is the timeline of the constitutional amendment in the state legislature:[3]
- December 9, 2025: The constitutional amendment was introduced as Senate Joint Resolution 1 (SJR 1).
- January 22, 2026: The Indiana State Senate voted 43-2, with two members absent and two members not voting, to pass the constitutional amendment.
| Votes Required to Pass: 26 | |||
| Yes | No | NV | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 43 | 2 | 4 |
| Total % | 87.7% | 4.1% | 8.2% |
| Democratic (D) | 8 | 2 | 0 |
| Republican (R) | 35 | 0 | 4 |
See also
|
External links
Footnotes
