There is an important update in the most recent effort in California to secede from theUnited States.

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra has cleared the campaign behind the secession initiative to start collecting the 585,000-plus signatures required to make it onto the 2018 ballot. Supporters of the plan have 180 days to collect the signatures.

An earlier signature drive for a similar initiative failed in April.

The initiative's fiscal analysis says it would cost the state at least $1.25 million a year for an advisory commission to assist the governor on California's independence plus "unknown, potentially major, fiscal effects if California voters approved changes to the state’s relationship with the United States."

The latest proposed initiative does not call for immediate secession. Instead, it forms a commission to examine the best strategies for California to pursue independence, plus deletes part of the state constitution that declares California an inseparable part of the US.

The campaign to make California an independent nation is also the title of a new comic book.

The digital graphic novel “Calexit” lays out a dark vision of the Golden State after “a fascist, autocratic President took over the United States,” and yet “lost California” in the popular vote – an apparent reference to President Trump’s election victory.

As expected, reaction to the movement sparked some pretty comical tweets on social media.

https://twitter.com/NJTNAttorney/status/890182830470422530

https://twitter.com/ThePianoPlaya/status/890168749789151233

The state’s critics celebrated the proposal, others raised logistical concerns over a potential exit from the U.S.

Photo Credit: gabriel12 / shutterstock.com