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Riverside County Supervisor Jeff Stone, Third District, announced Thursday that he will ask leaders in 13 counties to begin discussions about
Under the proposal, Riverside, Imperial, San Diego, Orange, San Bernardino, Kings, Kern, Fresno, Tulare, Inyo, Madera, Mariposa and Mono counties would be asked to consider forming a 51st state, the State of South California.
Boards of supervisors and city councils within those counties would be invited to meet and discuss the feasibility of secession from California, Stone said in a statement sent by Ray Smith, spokesman for the Riverside County Executive Office.
"He is so disenfranchised with the state's inabilities," said Verne Lauritzen, Stone's chief of staff, in a phone interview late Thursday.
"So he is recommending we start some discussions with other counties, and there are lots of them.
"He is dead serious."
Lauritzen said Stone, who represents the cities of Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee, Canyon Lake, Hemet and San Jacinto, as well as several unincorporated communities, is largely frustrated with the passage of Senate Bill 89.
The bill threatens to dismantle newly incorportated cities because it diverts vehicle license fee revenue to fund public safety.
The bill would drastically affect the newly incorporated cities of Wildomar, Menifee, Eastvale and Jurupa Valley, Lauritzen said.
All are dependent on the vehicle license fee revenue.
Wildomar stands to lose $1.8 million in revenues if SB 89 is not amended. Potential revenue losses for the three other new cities are even higher, with Eastvale standing to lose $3.1 million, Jurupa losing $6.2 million, and Menifee dropping $3.9 million, according to a letter written by legislators to Gov. Jerry Brown.
The legislators asked the governor to return Senate Bill 89 to lawmakers for amendments.
“This revenue accounts for 20 percent to 25 percent of the entire budget for these new cities. These cities will be seriously impacted by this realignment and will have way no ability to recover from this devastating loss of revenue. The four cities in Western Riverside County (and unknown others statewide) may be forced into bankruptcy or un-incorporation as a direct result of this bill,” the letter states.
Assemblyman Kevin Jeffries, 66th District, Assemblyman Paul Cook, 65th District, Assemblyman Jeff Miller, 71st District, Assemblyman Brian Nestande, 64th District, Senator Bill Emmerson, 37th District, and Senator Bob Dutton, 31st District, all signed the letter.
Otherwise there will be a “devastating effect on four new cities within our region and may well result in bankruptcy or un-incorporation of one or more of them,” the letter stated.
Stone is slated to bring the secession proposal to the Riverside County Board of Supervisors on July 12. In explaining his proposal, he offered these discussion points:
- California’s taxes are among the highest in the nation yet our deteriorating services slip year after year while state officials prop up disastrous budget policies by draining resources needed to help local residents.
- Regulations to control greenhouse gasses, and other unnecessary rules, have chased businesses out of California and devastated the economy.
- Political infighting has paralyzed California for more than decade, creating a state that is too large to govern.
- A huge portion of the state’s residents are on some form of public assistance and California has about 30 percent of the nation’s welfare load yet only 12 percent of the population.
- With limited resources available, California provides benefits that include in-state tuition to illegal immigrants, minimizing the financial resources available for legal residents who pay taxes. ·
- Once the darling of public education, California ranks 48th among states in test scores by one measure yet spends an exorbitant portion of the state budget on education.
Stone suggested the new state consider a part-time legislature, shifting governance more toward local control. Part-time legislators might receive only a $600 per month stipend and no other financial benefits except travel expenses to the new state capitol, he said.
Also open for consideration would be doing away with term limits, actually enforcing the state’s borders, adopting reasonable sales taxes and a provision like Proposition 13 that would control property taxes.
Counties and cities interested in the proposal, including those Stone has not already identified, would be invited to sit down and discuss the proposal.
He also suggested convening a meeting at the Riverside Convention Center, where residents and officials from each county and city would be welcome to offer ideas and testimony.
“Are there huge challenges? Absolutely,” Stone acknowledged. “But the destruction of California has to stop and we won’t know what we can accomplish unless we sit down and consider the possibilities.”
Remind us how granting people who already live here (and will continue to do so regardless of laws) a status which legally forces them to pay taxes increases your burden? If you don't feel the need to contribute to your community, then just don't let the door hit you on the way out.
There are about 10,000 employees left there now. Anyway it was the states job to raise some more money and feed it back to cities to make up for PROP 13, and NOT by rasing state tax RATES. They were to increase business and industry income, and keep the tax rates on them not too high. Instead they passed laws that drove out auto assembly plants, paint manufactures, aircraft companies, motion picture industry, destroyed the timber industry to benifit a few owls. Even now the Riverside County Supervisors tried to impose a 2% gross sales tax on the fledging solar power generating plants just starting to be constructed. Other geographic regions give new industries a tax break to come there: but here? Tax them more with a new tax.
what a pretty narrow minded view. Pilotsv and airline hate flying into ontario airport as is is one of the most energy consuming airport in the nation and at this time there is no technology even in Rioverside Copunty to fly Commercial aiplane with solar panels ... as far as Fedex and UPS both based out of State . so why the reference . Want to know the impact of Northern California on Technology , your phone , your TV your computer , your vehicle's electronic , About 90% global . Btty Ford clinic was founded to treat the well to do with various addiction . Abbot is an overseas based corporation , Kaiser is Based out of Oakland northern California , Should we go down your list , California is one State for ant mooron like Jeff Stone , instead of adressing the issues and fix them is nothing else but cowardize
Jeff Stone for like of better words is an IDIOT. YES AN IDIOT. California is a State , the South without the North cannot leave , does anyone noticed He conveniently omit Los Angeles and Long Beach and the entire coast line from his measure biut orange County land of the silicone implant and bankruptcy . Put your money where your mouth is put it on the ballot for the next election.
Prop 13 caused the problems it was a failure. http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1904938,00.html "What has brought California to such a perilous state? How did its government become so wildly dysfunctional? One obvious cause is the deep recession, which has caused tax revenues to plunge for all states. But California's woes have a set of deeper reasons: direct democracy run amok, timid governors, partisan gridlock and a flawed constitution have all contributed to budget chaos and people in pain. And at the root of California's misery lies Proposition 13, the antitax measure that ignited the Reagan Revolution and the conservative era. In Washington, the Reagan-Bush era is over. But in California, the conservative legacy lives on." http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/25/opinion/25krugman.html "The seeds of California’s current crisis were planted more than 30 years ago, when voters overwhelmingly passed Proposition 13, a ballot measure that placed the state’s budget in a straitjacket. Property tax rates were capped, and homeowners were shielded from increases in their tax assessments even as the value of their homes rose. The result was a tax system that is both inequitable and unstable. It’s inequitable because older homeowners often pay far less property tax than their younger neighbors."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-burnett/who-ruined-california_b_221339.html "The consequences of proposition 13 percolated throughout the state's economic and social systems. The California education system deteriorated to the point where it is now ranked 47th in the US. Pundits have characterized the consequences of proposition 13 as the "Mississippification" of California. For the past 30 years, governors and legislators have tried to keep California's financial house together by a series of tricks, most often borrowing in anticipation of future revenues. That worked as long as the California economy was strong, but the recession toppled the Golden State's house of cards." "Californians have to open our wallets and pay for schools, parks, roads, public safety, and all the other perks we've long associated with living in the Golden State. Our choice is to either to act like adults or resign ourselves to living in a third-world country." And its not just prop 13 its our crappy legislature and the 2/3 vote process that has caused so much filibustering and problems and delaying things to get passed or having some things not even get passed that could of helped California. The 2/3 also started by Republicans and conservatives. Facts are facts
What are you talking about L.A. is one of the largest cities in the country and in the world. It makes up almost half of the states economy. It is huge. Los Angeles is a world center of business, international trade, entertainment, culture, media, fashion, science, technology, and education. Los Angeles is also the largest manufacturing center in the western United States. San Francisco is the city is also a principal banking and finance center, and the home to more than 30 international financial institutions, helping to make San Francisco rank eighteenth in the world's top producing cities, ninth in the United States, and thirteenth place in the top twenty global financial centers. San Francisco has a huge economy that produces a lot of wealth and goods and contributes a lot for California's economy. California will be worse off without San Francisco and L.A. L.A. and San Francisco are not weighing the state down and bringing it down it is keeping California up and alive. LA and San Francisco don't have huge entitlements and don't have poor management policy, that is not true. You are buying into the lies and conservative talking points.
You are really stupid and ignorant. You truly can't see much of an offensive douche bag that you are. Stop calling yourself a tax payer like anyone who works in the public sector isn't a tax payer. My father and many of my family members are public workers, they are tax payers, they work for their money, it is their labor that gives them their money, so it is THEIR money. Public workers including my father pays into their stuff. So stop saying anyone who isn't a private sector worker is a leech. Our money originates from the same place which is the banks, it is not your money that you created it comes from the banks. Just like public sector workers money comes from the banks. You work for your money in the private sector and my father and family members and anyone else who works in the public sector works for their money. We are both taxed and our taxes go towards both the private sector and public sector.
And who the hell are you to say what is important and what what isn't. So education, healthcare, technology, infrastructure, protection, hospitals, energy, research and development, science, etc. Those aren't important. I guess your taxes rather go towards the rich CEO's who will just put their tax cuts provided by tax payers in private bank accounts instead of providing jobs. Only so these Crony-Corporatists can end up destroying our financial system and economy like they always do. That is right, I said that, I spoke a truth. Most recessions and depressions have been caused by corporate greed and deregulation. Get your facts straight.
Alex Daniels change of heart ? California is not bad after all even with IDIOTS LIKE JEFF STONE. you can run but you can't hyde ........I am looking forward the day we will be able to cut all the canal and pipeline that divert precious northern california water . there won't be too manny golf club in los angeles and palm spring , the famers will have tought time finding water for their plants , can you eat dust ? not even the Oakies could and they were tough skinned .
1. I am an American of Mexican Ancestry--not an anchor baby . 2. Your last Governor was a failed Republican. 3. David Duke is coming back home to lead you, good luck with that.