The South Miami City Commission voted 3 to 2 for Florida’s 23 southern counties to secede and form a new state named South Florida because of frustration over environmental issues and a lack of concern by state leaders.

The average elevation in southern Florida is lower than in the north, and global warming and rising sea levels threaten the region, the city said in a resolution this month. However, getting Tallahassee to pay attention to the growing problem is difficult, the city said.

“South Florida’s situation is very precarious and in need of immediate attention,” reads the resolution. “Presently, in order to address the concerns of South Florida, it is necessary to travel to Tallahassee in North Florida. Often South Florida issues do not receive the support of Tallahassee.”

The need to create a new state is a “necessity for the very survival of the entire southern region of the current state of Florida,” the commission said.

A copy of the resolution will be sent to the 23 counties and all municipalities in Miami-Dade County. To form a new state, a proposal must be approved by the state legislature and U.S. Congress. No state has been formed from a previously existing state since 1863 when West Virginia was created from Virginia.

In September, a proposal in California to split the state six ways failed to receive enough signatures to make it onto the ballot in 2016.

This post originally appeared in the Huffington Post.