The headline here is confusing, but this is an initiative in California that is now moving to the signature gathering phase that (if sufficient signatures are gathered) would place a ballot measure on the November 2025 election ballot.
That ballot measure, if passed, would enact a state statute which would (on its face) do two things:
(1) Create a commission to study and report on the viability of California as an independent state, and
(2) Place a measure on the November 2028 general election ballot that would ask if California should be an independent state (oddly, this second vote has a higher-than-normal 55% threshold despite having no legal effect other than registering public opinion for the record.)
Aside from all the litigation it would spur because of its headline subject matter, it also looks like the commission at its center would likely run into problems, including:
* the proposed statute defines an exact racial/ethnic/gender composition for the publicly-paid state commission, in fairly flagrant violation of Article I, Section 31 of the State Constitution: “The State shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.”
* Requires commission members to have a bachelor’s degree from an instutution accredited by the University of California, which os a degree-granting institution but does not actually accredit degree-granting institutions, so, as written, it is impossible for anyone to be eligible for the commission.
What are the advantages of this over advocating for more and stronger state rights and lower federal taxes and removal of federal agencies?
California already has a state constitution which can enshrine positive rights. It is larger than most European countries and could implement socialized healthcare if it wished.
> What are the advantages of this over advocating for more and stronger state rights and lower federal taxes and removal of federal agencies?
The advantage of this is chaos, which is why after backing Trump in 2016 Russia backed an earlier “Calexit” effort that this literally borrowed the label from.
That ballot measure, if passed, would enact a state statute which would (on its face) do two things:
(1) Create a commission to study and report on the viability of California as an independent state, and
(2) Place a measure on the November 2028 general election ballot that would ask if California should be an independent state (oddly, this second vote has a higher-than-normal 55% threshold despite having no legal effect other than registering public opinion for the record.)