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RESOLUTION No. _____ _
3 A Resolution of the Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami,
4 Florida, advocating the legal separation of Florida into two separate states,
5 creating the 51st state in the Union and naming it "South Florida".
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7 Whereas, presently, the State of Florida consists of 67 counties in an area of
8 approximately 56,000 square miles with a population of approximately 19,135,000 people; and
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10 Whereas, the new proposed State of South Florida would have 24 counties ("which
11 counties shall herein after be referred to as "South Florida"). These 24 counties are 35% of the
12 total number of counties in the current State of Florida and they would comprise approximately
13 23,000 square miles in area. Thus, South Florida would be comprised of 39% of the area of the
14 current State of Florida and would have a population of approximately 13,375,000 people which
15 is 67% of the total population of the current State of Florida; and
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17 Whereas, presently, the State of Florida collects approximately 22 billion dollars in sales
18 and documentary taxes from all of Florida, of which 69 percent, 15.25 billion dollars, is collected
19 in south Florida; and
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21 Whereas, the new State of South Florida will consist of 24 counties with its northern
22 border being Brevard, Orange, Polk, Hillsborough and Pinellas and include the other 19 counties
23 south ofthose five counties; and
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25 Whereas, South Florida Water Management District starts In Orange County and
26 includes most ofthe aforementioned Counties in south Florida; and
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28 Whereas, the average elevation of the present State of Florida is approximately 100 feet
29 above sea level. North Florida is approximately 120 feet above sea level while the average
30 elevation of south Florida is less than 50 feet with a very large portion of south Florida averaging
31 less than 15 feet above sea level. Many sections of south Florida are five feet or less above sea
32 level, including Momoe County and the Gold Coast, consisting of Palm Beach County, Broward
33 County and Miami-Dade County. This area also includes the Everglades National Park, Big
34 Cypress National Preserve, Biscayne National Park and the Turkey Point nuclear reactors. These
35 reactors are 42 years old and less than five feet above sea level with in excess of 2.5 million
36 pounds of nuclear waste buried on the grounds of the nuclear plant.
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38 Whereas, Lake Okeechobee, located in south Florida, is the second largest freshwater
39 lake in the United States and the source of much of the fresh water supplied to south Florida and
40 could be severely compromised by rising sea levels; and
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42 Whereas, climate change is a scientific reality resulting in global warming and rising sea
43 level; and
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45 Whereas, the apparent winner of the November 8, 2016 presidential election, Donald
46 Trump, has made it clear that he intends to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency
47 ("EPA"); and
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1 Whereas, multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97
2 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the
3 past century are extremely likely due to human activities; and
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5 Whereas, Donald Trump and Florida's Governor, Rick Scott, are climate change deniers
6 who ignore the consensus of an overwhelming number ofthe world's climate scientists who have
7 concluded that the world is warming at an unusual rate that can only be attributed to human
8 activity; and
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10 Whereas, Donald Trump has stated that he plans to promote on-shore and off-shore oil
11 exploration and drilling and fracking throughout the United States, including Florida; and
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13 Whereas, Donald Trump has advocated withdrawing from the Paris Agreement on
14 climate change; and
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16 Whereas, it is estimated that there will be a three to six-foot sea level rise by the end of
17 this century. In addition, south Florida has very porous rock and, as the level ofthe sea rises, the
18 pressure will cause water to rise up through the ground and flood the inland areas; and
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20 Whereas, south Florida's situation is very precarious and in need of immediate attention.
21 Many of the issues facing south Florida are not political, but are now significant safety issues;
22 and
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24 Whereas, presently, in order to address the concerns of south Florida, it is necessary to
25 travel to Tallahassee in north Florida. Often south Florida issues do not receive the support of
26 Tallahassee. This is despite the fact that south Florida generates more than 69% of the state's
27 revenue and contains 67% of the state's population; and
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29 Whereas, the creation of the 51 st state, South Florida, is a necessity for the very survival
30 of the entire southern region of the current State of Florida.
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32 NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
33 COMMISSIONERS OFTHE CITY OF SOUTH MIAMI, FLORIDA:
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35 Section 1. The recitals contained in this resolution are adopted and made a part hereof by
36 reference and they reflect the exigency that now exists and the need for immediate action.
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38 Section 2. The Mayor and City Commission of the City of South Miami, Florida, hereby
39 advocate the legal separation of Florida into two separate states, creating the 51st state in the
40 Union, and naming it "South Florida". It is understood that this is only the first step in a very
41 complicated process and it will ultimately require the approval of the electorate of the entire state
42 as well as Congressional approval.
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44 Section 3. The City Clerk is directed to send a copy of this resolution to all
45 municipalities in Miami-Dade County, the members of the governing bodies of all 24 counties
46 that are in the proposed State of South Florida, and their respective league of cities.
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1 Section 4. Severability. If any section clause, sentence, or phrase of this resolution is for
2 any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by a court of competent jurisdiction, the holding shall
3 not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this resolution.
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5 Section 5. Effective Date. This resolution shall become effective immediately upon
6 adoption.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED this __ day of _____ , 2016.
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ATTEST:
CITY CLERK
READ AND APPROVED AS TO FORM,
LANGUAGE, LEGALITY AND
EXECUTION THEREOF
CITY ATTORNEY
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APPROVED:
MAYOR
COMMISSION VOTE:
Mayor Stoddard:
Vice Mayor Welsh:
Commissioner Edmond:
Commissioner Liebman:
Commissioner Harris: