South Florida City Wants to Create 51st State

Still up in arms about what is perceives as a lack of reverence for South Florida’s unique environment from leaders in Tallahassee, officials in one Sunshine State city have yet again voted in favor of breaking away to form America’s 51st state.

Last week’s vote in South Miami, however, went further than a similar one taken in October. This time leaders in that city are asking the Miami-Dade County League of Cities to form a committee to explore the possibility of forging a whole new state, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

As it was with the October resolution, this proposal, brought to the floor again by Vice Mayor Walter Harris, was approved by a 3-2 margin. The resolution says that Tallahassee just isn’t doing enough to address South Florida’s concerns related to rising sea levels and global warming.

“This is a way we can get other communities involved without them having to feel like they’re not going to get any help from Tallahassee. Everybody’s afraid of antagonizing the guy who doesn’t recognize climate change, I forget his name,” Harris was quoted by the paper as saying.

See Also:

• Split State Proposal Would Cut Tampa Bay in Half
• Single-Sex Bathroom Bill Floats with House Committee

Gov. Rick Scott has drawn fire in recent weeks after allegations surfaced that staffers in his administration are not allowed to use the words “climate change” in official documents or presentations. One state staffer even alleges he was sent home and reprimanded for talking about climate change, the Huffington Post reported.

Should the South Miami proposal hold water, the plan is to split the state in the middle with Tampa Bay’s Hillsborough, Polk, Pinellas, Manatee and Sarasota counties belonging to the new state of South Florida. Pasco and Hernando counties would remain a part of the old Sunshine State.

“It’s very apparent that the attitude of the northern part of the state is that they would just love to saw the state in half and just let us float off into the Caribbean,” Mayor Philip Stoddard said when October’s proposal was approved.

Should South Miami’s proposal gain footing, the measure would have to be approved by Congress and voters from all over the state to move forward.

What do you think this? Is it time to split Florida in two? Share your thoughts by commenting below!

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