KHTS Radio Santa Clarita Radio – Santa Clarita News
California as we know it could end soon, if voters approve a ballot measure in November.
A plan to break California into three states – California, Northern California and Southern California – has qualified for the November ballot after supporters turned in a petition with over 400,000 signatures.
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Santa Clarita and the rest of Los Angeles County would remain in California under the proposed split, along with Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey and San Benito Counties.
Southern California would include 12 counties: San Diego, San Bernardino, Orange, Riverside, Mono, Madera, Inyo, Tulare, Fresno, Kings, Kern and Imperial Counties.
Northern California would consist of the 40 remaining counties in the state, including the San Francisco Bay area and the current state capitol: Sacramento.
The proposal was put forth by venture capitalist Tim Draper, who said regional leaders, such as the Santa Clarita City Council and the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, would be able to serve their constituents better without oversight from Sacramento.
Under the proposal, each state would have about 12.3 million to 13.9 million people.
But California will likely remain whole regardless of what voters decide in November. Any changes to the state’s boundaries would require the approval of the U.S. Congress, and analysts believe both Democrats and Republicans would be hesitant about the drastic changes.
Do you have a news tip? Call us at (661) 298-1220, or drop us a line at community@hometownstation.com.Republicans are likely to be nervous about the idea because two new states would mean four more senators, who are likely to lean Democrat.
And on the other side of the political spectrum, California’s 55 votes in the Electoral College are prized by Democrats as an almost guaranteed block for their presidential candidate. The three smaller states would disrupt that block, separating the deep red area such as Orange County from the rest of the Democratic strongholds in the state.
Constitutional lawyer and professor Jonathan Turley told CNN that congressional approval is not impossible, but not likely to happen, as Democrats could feel they have too much to lose.
“Dems consider California to be a single golden empire,” he said. “It would be hard for them to accept it as three golden empires.”
Ed. Note: CNN contributed to this article. KHTS is an affiliate of CNN.
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Rule #1. Any idea posed by a “venture (vulture) capitalist’ is a bad idea for the people.
Rule #s 2-10. See rule #1.
These borders are not well thought-out. To put Los Angeles and San Bernardino/Riverside in separate states defies 200 years of organic accretion. Populations form standardized metropolitan areas. Any plan should not disrupt these.
This is generally a good idea.
Congress can hash out the actual borders.
I feel that the Major League Baseball territories are good indicators of the splits in Califas.
The original proposal on the ballot keeps counties intact, but many of the borders should follow major roadways. San Luis Obispo county cannot remain whole–it is hopelessly split between California and North California.