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Health & Fitness

CA Divided Six Ways

The Attorney General’s office yesterday released the title and summary for an initiative to divide California into six states. In all candor, it probably doesn’t have a chance of passing… why? The key is in the first sentence of the initiative’s title and summary: Congress must approve. Even if the people vote for the split, Congress has to agree.

To be sure, it WILL qualify for the ballot – you heard it here first. But it’s interesting to contemplate not only the geographic implications but which current California laws these new states might adopt or abandon when officials in the new states write constitutions.

Would Proposition 13’s property tax protections be kept intact by Silicon Valley and North California (two of the state names in the proposal). These liberal leaning areas might try to make changes. However, the state of Jefferson, bordering Oregon, might be very comfortable with the property tax law.

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Or possibly, the six states might alter the property tax law in six different ways from keeping it as-is to changing parts here and there, to dumping the whole thing. For some who have struggled over the years to undo Prop 13, they may see the six state plan as their best chance.

And what about the initiative process that brought us Prop. 13? Would it survive in the new states? How about referendum and recall? The great debate over governing in a republican form of government or relying on direct democracy from the people might be hotly contested in constitutional conventions.

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Beyond the constitution, you just know certain statutes are bound to change. Gun laws may be made tighter in some of the new states that have a more liberal bent while undoubtedly, the current gun laws would be loosened considerably in other new states.

And if you think the fight over getting northern water to the south is contentious now, wait until you have six states - some thirsty; some doing just fine, thank you. Consider many northern Californians who fight the idea of releasing more water to the south and oppose the building of dams might just agree to one giant dam — to prohibit any water going south. So just who (whom?) are these Six States of California?

Jefferson, including the territory represented by the boundaries of the following counties: Butte, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Humboldt, Lake, Lassen, Mendocino, Modoc, Plumas, Siskiyou, Shasta, Tehama, and Trinity.

North California, including the territory represented by the following counties:, Amador, El Dorado, Marin, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Sacramento, Sierra, Solano, Sonoma, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba.

Central California, including the territory represented by the boundaries of the following counties: Alpine, Calaveras, Fresno, Inyo, Kern, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced, Mono, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, Tulare, and Tuolumne.

Silicon Valley, including the territory represented by the following counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, and Monterey.

West California, including the territory represented by the following counties: Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, and Ventura.

South California, including the territory of Imperial, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, and San Diego.

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