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DRAFT LANGUAGE FOR 60 DAYS OF PUBLIC INPUT

A NEW HOPE FOR CALIFORNIA INITIATIVE
OCTOBER 27, 2014 DECEMBER 26, 2014

Ms. Ashley Johansson
Initiative Coordinator
Office of the Attorney General
1300 "I" Street
Sacramento, CA 95814-2919

Re: Request for Title and Summary for Proposed Initiative

Pursuant to Article II, Section 10(d) of the California Constitution, this letter respectfully requests that the
Attorney General prepare a circulating title and summary of the enclosed proposed statewide initiative:
"A New Hope for California Initiative." Also enclosed are the required signed statements pursuant to
California Elections Code sections 9001 and 9608, and a check in the amount of $200.

Please direct all inquiries and correspondence regarding this proposed initiative to:

Louis J. Marinelli
President, Sovereign California, Inc.
LJMarinelli@SovereignCA.org

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

___________________________________________
Signature of Proponent
___________________________________________
Printed Name
___________________________________________
Date
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Section1.Title.
This Act shall be known and cited as the New Hope for California Initiative.
Section2.FindingsandDeclarations.
The People of California find and declare that California is effectively a nation-state with an economy
comparable to that of the wealthiest and most developed countries in the world. Thus, California has the
capacity to govern itself more independently through devolution while maintaining its political, currency
and military connections with the United States. To prove this, let facts be submitted to a candid world:
(a) Californias 2.2 trillion dollar economy is comparable to the economies of Russia and Brazil and
our economy is on track to overtake Brazils as the worlds seventh largest GDP;

(b) California is the 30
th
largest oil producer in the world, comparable to Malaysia, and has over
2,900 million barrels of crude oil in reserves. Californias 17 oil refineries have a capacity of 1.96
million barrels per calendar day.

(c) California is the 27
th
largest exporter in the world, comparable to Indonesia and is home to two of
the top fifty major global seaports Los Angeles, ranking 16
th
and Long Beach, ranking 23
rd
;

(d) California is on average more linked to the global economy than the rest of the United States and
about 150% more dependent on international trade;

(e) California remains the top destination of foreign investment in the world while foreign
investment in the United States has continued to fall over the past decade;

(f) California citizens are more likely to be involved in international trade than American citizens;

(g) Californias population is the most diverse population in the United States and its size of over 38.3
million is comparable to the population of Poland. Californias population is isolated from the vast
majority of the American population by a thousand miles of desert and mountains. As a result,
California has different social needs and requires unique public and economic policies.

(h) California is 16
th
in the world for college graduates, comparable to the United Kingdom, and more
Californians have college degrees than the national average;

(i) Californias life expectancy of 80.8 years is comparable to life expectancy in the United Kingdom;

(j) Californias Human Development Index score is among the best in the world, comparable to
Sweden. Human Development Index is a snapshot measuring wealth, health and education;

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Section3.StatementofPurpose.
The purpose of this measure is to establish a non-partisan blue ribbon panel of the state legislature to call
upon expert testimony in public hearings on the issue of sub-national sovereignty and expanded
autonomy for California through maximum devolution using Scottish devolution as a model. The
legislature, upon passage of this measure, shall investigate sub-national sovereignty through devolution,
and determine its economic and fiscal impact on California individually, and the United States collectively.
The legislature shall then produce a publication of its findings upon completion of its investigation
available digitally and in hard form to be used as an independent resource for public discourse.
Section4.LiberalConstruction.
This Act shall be liberally construed in order to effectuate its purposes, and the state legislature shall have
the power to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the provisions
of this Act.
Section5.Severability.
The provisions of this Act are severable. If any portion, section, subdivision, paragraph, clause, sentence,
phrase, word, or application of this Act is for any reason held to be invalid by a decision of any court of
competent jurisdiction, that decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Act. The
People of California hereby declare that they would have adopted this Act and each and every portion,
section, subdivision, paragraph, clause, sentence, phrase, word, and application not declared invalid or
unconstitutional without regard to whether any portion of this Act or application thereof would be
subsequently declared invalid.
Section6.LegalDefense.
If this Act is approved by the voters of the California and thereafter subjected to a legal challenge alleging
a violation of or conflict with federal law, and both the Governor and Attorney General refuse to defend
this Act, then the following actions shall be taken:
(a) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Chapter 6 of Part 2 of Division 3 of Title 2
of the Government Code or any other law, the Attorney General shall appoint independent
counsel to faithfully and vigorously defend this Act on behalf of the State of California.

(b) Before appointing or thereafter substituting independent counsel, the Attorney General shall
exercise due diligence in determining the qualifications of independent counsel and shall obtain
written affirmation from independent counsel that independent counsel will faithfully and
vigorously defend this Act. The written affirmation shall be made publicly available upon request.

(c) A continuous appropriation is hereby made from the General Fund to the Controller, without
regard to fiscal years, in an amount necessary to cover the costs of retaining independent counsel
to faithfully and vigorously defend this Act on behalf of the State of California.