INDIANAPOLIS — At a time when the GOP-dominated Indiana General Assembly is considering the decriminalization of cannabis, Republican lawmakers are seeking to reign in local prosecutors like Ryan Mears in Marion County who have announced they are not going to pursue minor crimes like marijuana possession. “There is no nexus between possession of marijuana cases and violent crime and so that is why we feel comfortable making the decision that we are no longer going to move forward with these type of prosecutions,” said Mears on Sept. 30, 2019, hoping to send a message to the Indiana Statehouse. Governor Braun eliminates DEI initiatives from state government Apparently, lawmakers heard Mears loud and clear as there are now a pair of legislative proposals to punish county prosecutors who refuse to charge a specific class of crimes whether there is enough evidence to convict or not. House Bill 1006 has been proposed by Rep. Chris Jeter, a Republican from Fishers, which has seen an increase in property and violent crime perpetuated by Marion County residents who go north into Hamilton County to break the law. “There is a big difference between ‘I don’t really think there is enough evidence in this case to prosecute,’ and me going out on the street corner and saying ‘I’m not prosecuting any shoplifting, I’m not prosecuting any drugs,’” said Jeter. “We’ve seen in other communities that it has really had a detrimental effect, particularly in big cities where they make that announcement. It’s kind of an invitation for lawlessness. We just want to make sure that doesn’t make its way into our borders.” Jeter’s bill would halt reimbursement of eligible expenses to county prosecutors who refuse to file on specific crimes. “Counties would have to qualify for the fund,” said Jeter. “I think you can expect one of the qualifications would be they’re enforcing the law, which is sort their core job and something we’ve been pretty adamant we want to see.” Jeter added a condition of the funding for prosecutors would also likely be tied to the general assembly's "values and principles." Jeter said his bill would not take away the discretion prosecutors have to not file criminal charges if they don’t think the evidence supports them. “We’re going to be really careful and make sure we don’t get in the way of prosecutorial discretion,” he said. “We’ll make sure we have a process where those issues can be looked at, prosecutors can be heard. We just want to make sure the laws that we pass are followed and our communities are safe.” House Republicans release 2025 legislative priorities On the Senate side, Marion County Republican Aaron Freeman has filed Senate Joint Resolution 22 which would be a constitutional amendment to permit a governor to remove from office any county prosecutor for refusal to file on certain cases across the board. ”When you have a prosecutor who doesn’t understand Schoolhouse Rock and doesn’t understand that the executive branch is the one that carries out what the legislature passes and he just doesn’t wanna do his job, then I think the governor should have the ability to remove that person from office,” said Freeman. “Maybe we should talk about the Broken Windows theory and maybe we should be a little more law and orderish on folks at the lower end of the spectrum and then maybe we would never get to the larger end of the spectrum.” Governor Mike Braun (left) and Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears. Mears’ announcement about declining to enforce minor marijuana possession laws came early in his appointed term after succeeding Terry Curry, the previous prosecutor who died in office. In 2022, Marion County voters resoundingly elected Mears to his first full term. ”This is somebody who has said, ‘I’m not going to follow the law. I am not gonna carry out the laws of the General Assembly,’” said Freeman, a former Marion County deputy prosecutor. ”I think the voters of Marion County are capable of making that decision and will make that decision in an upcoming election, I’m sure, for prosecutor.” Mears’ office had no comment on the pending legislation. Indiana Democrats issued a statement that read: “The Republican supermajority uses every session as an excuse to attack local control, and these proposals are just the latest examples. The people of Indianapolis elected a prosecutor who promised to spend more time on the crimes that matter rather than locking people up for non-violent cannabis offenses.  “We believe local governments and leaders know their communities best, and these bills would take power away from the local voters to decide their prosecutors and other critical officials.” Freeman’s resolution would need passage by two consecutive General Assemblies before it could be submitted to voters on a statewide ballot.