> California should remain one state, probably, but add regional regulatory entities between counties and the state.
We could accomplish this by giving regional government authorities like the Association of Bay Area Governments
more authority. Essentially the metropolitan areas become like city states. The state could set certain goals (reduce carbon by this much, increase housing by that much), but it would be up to regional government to specify implementation details.
The question I'd have would be should there be:
1) direct democratic participation in those authorities (elected by the residents of the area), or
2) should they be selected by the subsidiary jurisdictions (counties/cities),
3) or by the state (legislature or governor).
The state government seems dysfunctional in a lot of ways, so while maybe goals could come down from the state, the actual authorities should be 1) or 2). Maybe some combination.
We could accomplish this by giving regional government authorities like the Association of Bay Area Governments more authority. Essentially the metropolitan areas become like city states. The state could set certain goals (reduce carbon by this much, increase housing by that much), but it would be up to regional government to specify implementation details.