Is California potentially a step closer to become an independent country? A new ballot measure asking whether California should be its own free and independent country was cleared recently to collect signatures, according to the California Secretary of State, according to multiple US news outlets. A “Calexit” initiative to allow California to secede from the United States has been cleared to legally gather signatures, according to New York Post. If passed, the proposed measure — “Calexit,” a nod to the Brexit vote in the UK — would be on the ballot in 2028 and ask voters: “Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?”

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California to become an independent country?

A new ballot initiative by Marcus Evans of Fresno reportedly asked voters whether the state should become an independent country was cleared by the California Secretary of State’s Office to move forward. To qualify for the state’s 2028 ballot, more than 545,000 signatures from registered voters must be gathered by July 22.

If approved, the measure would not trigger immediate independence, but it would create a 20-member commission to study whether California could govern itself as a separate nation, according to Fox LA. The secession would require a constitutional amendment which would need approval from two-thirds of the states.

According to the guidelines, if at least 50% of registered voters participated and at least 55% voted “yes,” it would constitute “a vote of no confidence in the United States of America.” Furthermore, it would express the “will of the people of California” to become an independent country.ALSO READ: These 200-year-old books predicted Trump’s return and rise of his son Barron: TikTok video fuels wild theories

According to the initiative’s language, it would not change California’s current government or relationship with the United States. However, it would create a commission to report on California’s viability as an independent country.

Then a 20-member commission would be created to study the viability of California operating as an independent state in 2027 and to publish a report the following year.

Then the question would appear on the ballot in 2028. And if that’s approved, the proposal would declare a “vote of no confidence in the United States of America” — without changing the state’s government or its relationship with the U.S. The measure also calls for the U.S. flag to be removed from all state buildings.

The initiative estimates one-time election-related costs, and forming a commission on national sovereignty and independence would cost $10 million. It estimates that operating the commission would take another $2 million in annual state costs.

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According to the news release from the California Secretary of State, “If enacted, this measure places the following question on November 2028 ballot: “Should California leave the United States and become a free and independent country?” If at least 50% of registered voters participate in that election, and at least 55% vote “yes”, it would constitute “a vote of no confidence in the United States of America” and “expression of the will of the people of California” to become an independent country, but would not change California’s current government or relationship with the United States.”

What does the US Constitution say?

The US Constitution does not provide for secession. A constitutional amendment would require the approval of two-thirds of Congress and 38 states. Since this secession movement is still in its infancy, there’s obviously no word yet on what an “free and independent” California flag or national anthem would be. But it seems that Phantom Planet’s iconic song “California” should be top runner.

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The new initiative was cleared today, but it’s not the first time a proposal has come forth for California to be its own independent country. Interest in pushing for California’s secession from the United States increased in 2016 after the presidential election that year.

The effort became known as “Calexit.” The “Calexit” name is a play on the successful “Brexit” campaign for Britain to leave the European Union. The movement was backed by YesCalifornia Independence Campaign at the time. However, according to a statement on their website, the YesCalifornia Independence Campaign has dismantled and that “moving forward, any efforts to advocate for California’s secession or independence referenda will not be affiliated with or sanctioned by YesCalifornia or the CalExit campaign.”

LOS ANGELES – Real estate companies in Los Angeles County are being accused of price gouging in a new report, as thousands of people are looking for places to live after their homes were destroyed in the Palisades and Eaton Fires. 

The new report from The Rent Brigade, a group that has been tracking rental listings since the fires first broke out, showed more than 1,300 instances of price gouging on rentals in the days since the fires started.

“Put simply, this is disaster capitalism at work,” the report’s authors wrote.

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Both the Palisades and Eaton fires erupted on Jan. 7. On that day, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency. California law prohibits “excessive and unjustified” price increases on goods and services, including rentals, during a state of emergency.

Typically, that means no increases of more than 10% for listings that were available before the emergency declaration. For things like new listings and re-listed properties, those rents can’t be more than 160% of the Fair Market Value in that ZIP code, which is determined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

For their report, The Rent Brigade collected data from Zillow listings from Jan. 7 to Jan. 18. They found 1,343 unique instances of listings that violated those rules. The data showed every size of rental saw major price increases in the days after Jan. 7, with rental prices for two-bedroom units growing by 80%.

In terms of sheer number of “rental gouging” listings, most of them were concentrated in Malibu, near the site of the Palisades Fire, and most of West LA.

Below is a list of the “Top 10 ZIP codes impacted by rent gouging.”

Even more concerning, the report found “listings at the lower end of the price spectrum are seeing significantly higher illegal rent hikes compared to those at the upper end.” 

The group also found a number of “repeat actors,” who were tied to multiple instances of price gouging. Compass was found to be the top offender in the report, with nearly 60 property listings in violation of the rules for both existing and new listings. According to the Rental Brigade, Compass listed properties at prices nearly 900% higher than their fair market value.

FOX 11 has reached out to Compass for comment, but has not heard back.

“Landlords and brokers are exploiting the current crisis to extract millions of dollars from tenants unlawfully,” the report’s authors wrote. “This is a textbook example of disaster capitalism, where greed flourishes in the midst of crisis, leaving displaced individuals and precariously housed tenants to bear the brunt of exploitation.”

Real EstateConsumerWildfiresLos Angeles CountyHousing

January 28, 2025, Berkeley, California — A new grant from College Futures Foundation will support research to improve the take-up of CalFresh benefits by students in the state’s three main systems of higher education, including the University of California, the California Community College System, and the California State University.

This is the first external support for the research of the new California College Data and Policy Project. The Project is a joint initiative of the California Policy Lab and the Center for Studies in Higher Education, and is led by Professor Jesse Rothstein, the Carmel Friesen Chair in Public Policy and David Gardner Chair in Higher Education and a Professor of Public Policy and Economics at UC Berkeley.

“We’re thrilled to receive this grant, which will support our work with our partners to use enrollment, financial aid, and safety-net data to identify students who are eligible for these supports, and then target outreach with a goal of increasing the number of students who enroll,” explains Professor Rothstein. “We’re grateful to College Futures Foundation because this grant will also support our longer-term work to better measure if receiving CalFresh has an impact on student success outcomes like staying enrolled and graduating.”

CalFresh is California’s version of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and it provides a monthly benefit amount that can be used to purchase food. Research by the California Policy Lab has shown that among students who are likely eligible for CalFresh, only about 1 in 3 or 1 in 4 students enroll in the program.

Additional background

Student Supports Initiative
Across the country, many college students struggle to meet their basic needs while attending school. Public higher education institutions are well-situated to connect students to safety-net benefits, but data limitations have hampered previous efforts to quantify eligibility and take-up.

To address this, the California Policy Lab has partnered with the California Student Aid Commission (CSAC), the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO), the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), the University of California Office of the President (UCOP), the California State University Office of the Chancellor (CSUOC), and the California Department of Education (CDE) to link anonymized data across these six agencies in order to help get more students the support they need to thrive at college.

This initiative has made it possible to link together data that had not previously been linked, which in turn allows the research team to unlock new insights about CalFresh and college students. This includes analysis showing how many students are eligible and enrolled in the UC and California Community College systems, testing outreach methods with partners, and more recently, showing the impact that temporary, COVID-era policy changes had on making more students eligible for CalFresh, and making benefits more generous. All of the research is available on the CCDPP web page.

The California College Data and Policy Project
The CCDPP is a new research initiative that brings together University of California researchers and government partners to advance equity and improve California’s world class higher education system.

CCDPP will generate new insights and research on what works to better support California students and their families as they transition through the education system. Initial CCDPP research will focus on student supports, college admissions, and transfer students.