Residents in a rural portion of Colorado want to break away from the rest of their state and be the 51st state in the union.
According to a report by ABC News, the Commissioner of Weld County, Sean Conway said that citizens in the northeast corner of Colorado are angered by a bill that would create renewable energy sources in the state. Conway said the bill would raise power rates for rural Colorado but exempt municipal individuals from similar rate changes.
“If you are going to impose mandates, impose them on everybody,” said Conway. He said creating a new state would be a long process, but believes timing and how the proposal would develop would make a new state, called North Colorado, a reality.
Other issues within the state, according to Conway, are passing gun control laws, school funding, poor transportation infrastructure, and development of oil and gas industries, expending local agriculture.
The next step in creating North Colorado will be discussions to get public interest and talk-through the logistics of the new state.
Conway said if there is enough interest the proposition of North Colorado will be placed on the November ballot.
“We want it to be ready to go for the legislative session in January and have that debate as soon as possible,” he said.
If the measure passes, it will need approval from the General Assembly and the governor. The Colorado Legislature would then have to petition Congress for the creation of a new state.
Coloradoans aren’t the first ones to attempt to create their own state, other endeavors have been tried in Arizona, Maine, Utah, Tennessee, Maryland, New York, Rhode Island, and West Virginia, according to the report.
