Editing La Paz County, Arizona (section)

==History==
{{See also|Yuma County, Arizona}}
La Paz County was established in 1983 after voters approved separating the northern portion of [[Yuma County, Arizona|Yuma County]], making it the only county to be established after Arizona became a state in 1912, and currently the second youngest county in the United States (behind the consolidated city-county of [[Broomfield, Colorado]], which was established in 2001). The county did not have a large enough tax base to begin supporting a separate county government immediately and had to rely on state money at first. As a result, the [[Arizona State Legislature]] changed Arizona laws to make splitting other existing counties much more difficult.

Under the revised Arizona laws, a county shall not be formed or divided by county initiative unless each proposed county would have all of the following characteristics: (1) at least three-fourths of one percent of the total state assessed valuation and at least the statewide per capita assessed valuation; (2) a population of at least three-fourths of one percent of the total state population according to the most recent United States decennial census; (3) at least one hundred square miles of privately owned land; (4) common boundaries with either (a) at least three other existing or proposed counties; or (b) at least two other existing or proposed counties and the state boundary.<ref>Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 11-132(B)</ref> A county formation commission is required to be formed to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed county.<ref>Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 11-136</ref> A proposal to divide a county must be approved by a majority of the votes cast in each proposed new county.<ref>Ariz. Rev. Stat. § 11-137(H)</ref> Yet in 2022 a group of Republican state legislators, motivated largely by partisan considerations, proposed dividing [[Maricopa County]] into four counties.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/bill-that-splits-up-maricopa-county-into-4-smaller-counties-advances-heres-what-you-should-know-about-hr2787 | title=Bill that splits up Maricopa County into 4 smaller counties advances: Here's what you should know about HR2787 | date=February 8, 2022 }}</ref>

The [[Colorado River Indian Reservation]] is located in the western portion of the county. Part of the reservation extends westward into [[San Bernardino County, California|San Bernardino]] and [[Riverside County, California|Riverside]] counties in [[California]].