This page shows the actual split proposed by Assembly Joint Resolution 23 — the “Two-State Solution” introduced by then-Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher — computed county-by-county below: a 36-county inland state versus the 22-county coastal remainder.
Updated July 4, 2026
Screenshots and the downloaded image are free to publish with credit to calisplit.com.
AJR 23 was introduced in August 2025, in the middle of the Proposition 50 redistricting fight, which Gallagher argues “silences rural voices.” It asks Congress to divide California in two: an inland state of 36 enumerated counties — the Central Valley, the Sierra, the far north, the Inland Empire, and Orange County (about 10.5 million people), plus any adjacent counties that later vote to join — with the coastal and urban strip, including Los Angeles and San Diego, remaining as a smaller California.
It is a non-binding resolution: even if both chambers passed it, it would only express the Legislature's request. An actual split requires the California Legislature's formal consent and an act of Congress under Article IV, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution — a bar no California split proposal has ever cleared.
How would a split actually happen — and why has every attempt failed? See Can California split? for the full process and history.
Introduced by Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City); referred to the Assembly Rules Committee, where it has sat since — never granted a hearing or a floor vote.
Shasta County's Board of Supervisors votes 3–2 to endorse the resolution days after Proposition 50 passes; Gallagher calls Prop 50 the “primary catalyst.”
Yuba and Sutter county supervisors vote to support the plan, citing rural counties feeling unheard on water and fire resources — even as local Democrats put its odds of passage at “absolutely zero.”
Gallagher wins the special election for California's 1st congressional district and leaves the Assembly for Congress. AJR 23 is amended to add Assemblymember Heather Hadwick as joint author and re-referred to the Rules Committee, where it still awaits a first hearing.
Alpine · Amador · Butte · Calaveras · Colusa · Del Norte · El Dorado · Fresno · Glenn · Imperial · Inyo · Kern · Kings · Lassen · Madera · Mariposa · Merced · Modoc · Mono · Nevada · Orange · Placer · Plumas · Riverside · San Bernardino · San Joaquin · Shasta · Sierra · Siskiyou · Stanislaus · Sutter · Tehama · Trinity · Tulare · Tuolumne · Yuba
Every other county — including Los Angeles, San Diego, and the Bay Area — would remain in the coastal state. Think the lines should be drawn differently? Remix this split in the editor.
Yuba and Sutter county supervisors vote to support Gallagher's plan to divide the state, citing rural counties feeling unheard on water and fire resources.
Four of five Yuba supervisors and all five Sutter supervisors endorse AJR 23 — even as local Democrats call its odds of passing “absolutely zero.”
Shasta County supervisors vote 3–2 to endorse the split; Gallagher cites Prop 50's passage as the “primary catalyst.”
The original explainer on Gallagher's “two-state solution” and why it is constitutionally a long shot.
Where it started — AJR 23's plan to peel the inland counties into a new state in response to redistricting.
CaliSplit is a hypothetical, educational tool, not affiliated with any campaign, movement, or government. Editorial summaries above are drawn from the linked sources; please consult them for full detail.
