Yuba and Sutter County Leaders to Take Vote to Secede From Coastal California

Two inland counties in Northern California are taking votes on a proposed secession plan that would create a new state from California’s 35 inland counties. The plan would separate those counties from the 23 counties nearer to and on the coast. State Assemblyman James Gallagher is pushing the effort, including votes in Yuba and Sutter counties. Gallagher frames the proposal as a response to inland residents lacking meaningful representation under coastal-dominated governance. The push traces back to a legislative resolution introduced in August 2025 that cites California’s size and inland frustration with laws and regulations opposed by inland residents. The effort follows the passage of Prop 50, which temporarily reduces political influence for less populated inland areas.

"“This morning, I'm saying, Gavin, let my people go.' We would like a better way forward, and we can no longer abide a government that gives us no voice,” Gallagher said at a press conference announcing the plan, per the California Post."

"Gallagher, who is from Yuba City, has pushed for county supervisors in Yuba and Sutter counties to take votes to approve the plan which will obviously go nowhere if it ever reaches the Democrat-controlled legislature for an actual vote."

"The secession push dates back to a legislative resolution that Gallagher first introduced in August 2025, which argued that California's sheer size in comparison to other states is a good reason to divide it into two states. The text of the resolution also adds a “whereas” that says, “The citizens of northern California and inland regions have long been frustrated at being subjected to laws and regulations that they and their representatives have overwhelmingly opposed, but were nonetheless passed and authorized by the more populous coastal regions of California.”"

Read at sfist.com