# Indiana SJ 1: Constitutional amendment concerning bail.

Indiana SJ 1, Constitutional amendment concerning bail., is a Second Regular Session 124th General Assembly (2026) Senate bill sponsored by Eric Koch (Republican); status became law, last action 2026-02-23 (Signed by the President of the Senate) (as of 2026-11-01).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SJ1-2026
- As of: 2026-11-01
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: Indiana SJ 1
- State: Indiana
- Session: Second Regular Session 124th General Assembly (2026)
- Title: Constitutional amendment concerning bail.
- Status: became law
- Chamber: Senate
- Introduced: 2025-12-09
- Last action: 2026-02-23, Signed by the President of the Senate
- Sponsor: Eric Koch (Republican)
- Cosponsors: 5
- Subjects: corrections and criminal law, the house, judiciary
- Touches household money: no
- Roll calls: 2 (118 yes, 13 no in all)
- Economic provisions PRIA read: 1

## Summary

Provides that an offense other than murder or treason is not bailable if: (1) the proof is evident or the presumption strong; and (2) the state proves by clear and convincing evidence that no release conditions will reasonably protect the safety of any other person or the community. This proposed amendment has been agreed to by one general assembly.

## Bill overview: provisions PRIA read

- Stricter bail rules for criminal cases: cost, high. Indiana’s Constitution now sets tighter bail rules. For murder or treason, when the proof is evident or the presumption strong, the accused cannot get bail. For other crimes, the accused is bailable by sufficient sureties unless the person poses a substantial risk to any other person or the communi…

## Sponsors and cosponsors

- Sponsor: Eric Koch (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Aaron Freeman (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Chris Jeter (Republican), House
- Cosponsor: James Buck (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Michael Young (Republican), Senate
- Cosponsor: Rodric Bray (Republican), Senate

## Roll call votes

| Date | Chamber | Motion | Result | Yes | No | Other |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-02-16 | House | Third reading: passed | pass | 75 | 11 |   |
| 2026-01-22 | Senate | Third reading: passed | pass | 43 | 2 |   |

## Actions (20)

- 2026-02-23: Signed by the President of the Senate (Senate)
- 2026-02-23: Public Law 164 (Senate)
- 2026-02-18: Signed by the Speaker (House)
- 2026-02-17: Returned to the Senate without amendments (House)
- 2026-02-17: Signed by the President Pro Tempore (Senate)
- 2026-02-16: Third reading: passed; Roll Call 244: yeas 75, nays 11 (House)
- 2026-02-12: Second reading: ordered engrossed (House)
- 2026-02-09: Committee report: do pass, adopted (House)
- 2026-01-28: First reading: referred to Committee on Judiciary (House)
- 2026-01-23: Referred to the House (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Third reading: passed; Roll Call 43: yeas 43, nays 2 (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Senator Bray added as second author (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Senator Buck added as coauthor (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Senator Freeman added as third author (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: House sponsor: Representative Jeter (Senate)
- 2026-01-22: Senator Young M added as coauthor (Senate)
- 2026-01-15: Second reading: ordered engrossed (Senate)
- 2026-01-13: Committee report: do pass, adopted (Senate)
- 2025-12-09: First reading: referred to Committee on Corrections and Criminal Law (Senate)
- 2025-12-09: Authored by Senator Koch (Senate)

## Bill text

- Enrolled Senate Resolution (S): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SJ0001/versions/SJ0001.04.ENRH?format=pdf)
- Introduced Senate Resolution (S): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SJ0001/versions/SJ0001.01.INTR?format=pdf)
- Senate Resolution (H): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SJ0001/versions/SJ0001.02.COMS?format=pdf)
- Senate Resolution (S): [PDF](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SJ0001/versions/SJ0001.03.COMH?format=pdf)

## Related bills

- SB 239: Various education matters. (signed)
- SB 204: Various education matters. (signed)
- SB 179: Indiana department of transportation. (signed)
- SB 185: Alcohol and tobacco matters. (signed)
- SB 80: Code publication. (signed)
- HB 1424: Farm and homestead food sales. (signed)

## Sources
- [Enrolled Senate Resolution (S) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SJ0001/versions/SJ0001.04.ENRH?format=pdf)
- [Introduced Senate Resolution (S) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SJ0001/versions/SJ0001.01.INTR?format=pdf)
- [Senate Resolution (H) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SJ0001/versions/SJ0001.02.COMS?format=pdf)
- [Senate Resolution (S) (PDF)](https://api.iga.in.gov/2026/bills/SJ0001/versions/SJ0001.03.COMH?format=pdf)

## Related
- [SB 239: Various education matters.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB239-2026)
- [SB 204: Various education matters.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB204-2026)
- [SB 179: Indiana department of transportation.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB179-2026)
- [SB 185: Alcohol and tobacco matters.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB185-2026)
- [SB 80: Code publication.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SB80-2026)
- [HB 1424: Farm and homestead food sales.](https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-HB1424-2026)
- [Indiana bills](https://policyrisk.com/states/indiana/bills)
- [Indiana state hub](https://policyrisk.com/states/indiana)
- [All state legislation](https://policyrisk.com/state-bills)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/state-bill/IN-SJ1-2026 (as of 2026-11-01).