Six Californias Petition Given Green Light

California has given the green light to a group that will collect petitions that could force a 2016 public vote on a proposal to split the state into six new states.

Tim Draper filed a ballot initiative in December stating that because of recent social and economic changes California has become “nearly ungovernable.” The plan aims to settle California’s financial issues after the separation of the states. If things can’t be resolved, each state would receive a portion of the state’s debts based on the newly created state’s population. If the federal government approves creating six new states, “all tax collections and spending by the existing State of California would end, with its assets and liabilities divided among the new states,” Secretary of State Debra Bowen said in a statement on Tuesday. That would leave decisions regarding taxes and public spending of the new states up to its elected leaders.

A similar proposal was shot down by Colorado voters last November. Of course, there is zero chance that the feds would approve any of this. Draper made his fortune by investing in Skype.

RELATED: There's also a movement to carve New York into two autonomous regions that would mostly still function as a single state on the federal level. Unshockingly, the backers are a wingnut "patriot" group calling themselves the Upstate Conservative Coalition.

The state would retain a “token” presence, funded by the 3 percent sales tax, and would remain united for federal purposes such as the Electoral College and congressional seats. But the power on all state matters would be transferred to the regions. The downstate region would be called New York and include the counties of Bronx, Kings, New York, Queens, Richmond, Nassau, Rockland, Suffolk and Westchester — basically New York City and its neighboring counties, including Long Island. The upstate region tentatively would be named New Amsterdam — after the 17th-century Dutch settlement on Manhattan Island that eventually became New York City — and would comprise the state’s remaining 53 counties, including the state capital of Albany.

The New Amsterdam group would make English its official language and outlaw gay marriage. Of course!