Sunday, July 10, 2011

Riverside County official wants California split into 2 states

Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone is proposing that about a dozen counties break away from California to form the new "State of South California."  

The split, Stone said Thursday, would allow officials in the new state to concentrate on securing borders, balancing budgets, improving schools and creating a vibrant economy.

"Our taxes are too high, our schools don't educate our children well enough, unions and other special interests have more clout in the Legislature than the general public," Stone said in a statement. "It has to change."

Stone suggested that Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, San Bernardino, Kings, Kern, Tulare, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa and Mono counties band together to form the new state.

Among the things the new state should consider, he said, are having a part-time Legislature, shifting more power to local governments and adopting a reasonable sales tax.

Stone said he will propose that Riverside County officials hold a public meeting at the Riverside Convention Center to hear thoughts and testimony from officials and members of the public.

"Are there challenges?" he asked about his proposal. "Absolutely. But the destruction of California has to stop and we don't know what we can accomplish unless we sit down and consider the possibilities.




Mr. Stone is particularly incensed by an item in the recently passed state budget that relates to the use of vehicle license fee revenue. Under the measure, any city incorporated after 2004 must forgo funding from the vehicle license fee. Riverside, which consistently ranks as one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the country, is hurt disproportionately because its cities are much newer. The fees, which account for between a quarter and a third of city budgets for four new Riverside County cities, were taken to help close the state's $26.6 billion deficit.
So does Mr. Stone, a pharmacist-turned-supervisor, have the right prescription for what ails California? "It's the political equivalent of smashing the china," says Professor John J. Pitney of Claremont McKenna College in Los Angeles County. "But sometimes, that's the only way to get attention."
There have been at least two dozen secession attempts in the state since 1850. Both state lawmakers and Congress would have to approve any split.more from the WSJ

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