California House Leader Announces Bill to Divide California

SACRAMENTO — On Wednesday, California Assembly Minority Leader James Gallagher presented a plan that would divide the state of California into two separate states. Under the proposal, 35 inland counties would comprise a new inland state, while the remaining 23 coastal counties would form a smaller version of California. The new state would have a population of over 10 million, ranking it among the top 10 states by population.

The proposal emerged in response to Governor Gavin Newsom’s plans to redraw the state’s congressional districts to favor Democrats, which Newsom has presented as a counter to similar redistricting efforts in Texas that favor Republicans. Gallagher believes inland Californians have been overlooked by Newsom and the state legislature, pointing to environmental regulations, high housing costs, and revenue losses on ranches and farms due to regulations and the reintroduction of the gray wolf. “Those politicians that are in power, they don’t care about those people. And they don’t care because they don’t have to. The structure is set up so that they’ll get elected anyway, and they’ll have the power. And those forgotten people, mostly in the inland counties of this state, they have no voice,” said Gallagher.

Gallagher explained that creating a new state would enable the inland region to govern itself more effectively. “We can govern ourselves and make decisions that actually work for the inland parts of the state. We could actually make decisions that would help lower our utility costs,” he said. On the issue of wolf depredations heavily affecting the Sierra Valley, Gallagher added, “We don’t like letting wolves kill our cattle, you know? But we have to go beg regulators to do the right thing. Not if we had a new state, not if we could actually govern ourselves and do things in a way that best suits the needs of our people.”

More than 200 unsuccessful attempts to divide California have occurred since 1850. Dividing a state requires approval from both the California legislature and the U.S. Congress—an unlikely prospect. Still, Gallagher indicated that the economic strength of the proposed inland state could generate interest from local communities over the long term. Regarding doubts about the seriousness of his bill, Gallagher said, “I assure you, it is not a stunt. This is the real feelings of people in my district and throughout this state of people who feel like this government does not look out for them and does not address their issues.”