Again? ‘New California’ group pushes 51st state with ‘declaration of independence’

Here we go again. The “New California,” movement — launched to little fanfare in 2016 — made a splash in the news Tuesday thanks to the issuance of a public “declaration of independence” on Monday calling for the formation of a 51st state in the U.S. and headlines on CBS, USA Today and the Drudge Report.

It’s one in a long string of efforts for California to secede from the U.S. or be split into multiple states.

“New California is a new state in development by egregiously aggrieved Californians exercising our Constitutional right to form a new state separate from the tyranny and lawlessness of the state of California,” the group’s Facebook Page says.

The new state, as envisioned, would exclude parts of California along the coastline from Orange north to Napa counties; New California would include all other parts of California, including San Diego County, leaving the coastal stretch as California.

The group’s website lists offices in Yuba City, Orange and Fresno, and Las Vegas bookies list its odds as long. (Kidding. Las Vegas oddsmakers aren’t going anywhere near this one, either.)

The group’s main grievances are listed as “years of over taxation, regulation, and mono party politics,” which it says has made the state of California “ungovernable.”

“The nature of the state becoming ungovernable has caused a decline in essential basic services such as education, law enforcement, fire protection, transportation, housing, health care, taxation, voter rights, banking, state pension systems, prisons, state parks, water resource management, home ownership, infrastructure and many more,” the group’s executive summary says.

The declaration of independence published and shared in Marysville on Monday asks the California lawmakers and U.S. congressional leaders to recognize its efforts and create the state of New California.

New California Vice Chair Paul Preston described it as rural vs. urban split. In an interview Tuesday with the Union-Tribune, Preston said he’s gotten dozens of calls of support in the 24 hours since the declaration.

To pull off this extremely unlikely effort, here’s what the Constitution says would need to happen:

“New States may be admitted by the Congress into this Union; but no new State shall be formed or erected within the jurisdiction of any other state; nor any state be formed by the junction of two or more states, or parts of states, without the consent of the legislatures of the states concerned as well as of the Congress.”

In other words, state lawmakers would have to vote to split up the state, then Congress would have to approve it. So to be blunt about all this: It’s a long shot. Let’s repeat that again. It’s a long shot.

The group is moving forward, however, putting together a list of organized county committees who would then spread the word and raise support locally.

Preston termed it “a growth phase” for the organization.

As news spread about the new effort to form an independent state, people took to social media to discuss the latest of many previous attempts. Reactions included confusion, concern and, yes, some support.

“New California” was a trending topic on Tuesday night as more news outlets picked up the story. But questions were quickly raised about how the small, little-known group could get so much attention so fast.

Many wondered if Russian-backed social media accounts helped spread the word like they reportedly did with the “Calexit” movement in 2016. It was discovered shortly after the presidential election that year that the leader of the independence group Yes California was living in Russia.

To learn more about this effort, go to newcaliforniastate.com. To let us know what you think about it, email letters@sduniontribune.com. Keep your letters to 150 words or less, and we may publish them.