A plan to break California up into six smaller states didn’t collect enough valid signatures to force itself onto a ballot. But California remains too big to function effectively, and some kind of decentralization is necessary.

Splitting California into six states doesn’t stand a chance in the state legislature or Congress, but venture capitalist Tim Draper’s effort to put the question before voters isn’t as farcical as it may seem.

One California venture capitalist has latched on to one of our favorite ideas: splitting up California into a number of different states. As CNN reports, Tim Draper has proposed a ballot initiative to create six states out of the former Golden State. Make no mistake: it’s potentially one of the most important reform possibilities in the US.