A multi-millionaire who believes
California should be separated into six separate states has been granted
permission to collect petition signatures calling for his plan to be
put to the vote.Venture capitalist Tim Draper, 55, says the Golden state is too large to govern efficiently, and that people living there would be better served by a more localised government.
The technology investor has proposed splitting the state into six: San Diego and Orange County would become South California, Los Angeles and Santa Barbara would make up West California, the Sacramento area would be known as North California, and Bakersfield, Fresno and Stockton would make up Central California.
Silicon Valley would be made up of San Francisco and San Jose, while Redding and Eureka would form Jefferson.More than 38 million people call California home, making it the most populous state in the US, and if it was to be its own country it would boast the world's eighth largest economy.
In December Mr Draper filed a ballot initiative calling for the changes, saying that social and economic changes across the state has left it difficult to govern by the state's capital Sacramento.
'It is more and more difficult for Sacramento to keep up with the social issues from the various regions of California,' he told ABC News.
'With six Californias, people will be closer to their state governments, and states can get a refresh.'
However, critics of the scheme have raised concerns about changes to issues such as agricultural policies and the voting system, as well as how the state's assets, and problems, would be shared out.
Secretary of State of California Debra Bowen has now allowed him to start collecting the signatures he would need to put his plan to a ballot when Californians vote in November 2016, when the next Presidential election will be held.
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