MISSOURI — A Missouri lawmaker called for making St. Louis, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County the 51st state during a debate last week regarding the state takeover of the St. Louis Metropolitan Police.

State Rep. Michael Burton, D-Lakeshire, suggested the city and two counties secede from the state and directed his argument at the Republican side of the chamber, stating, “We subsidize your counties.”

“Maybe we can just keep all that tax revenue in St. Louis, and can you imagine how great St. Louis would be if we just kept our own tax dollars?” Burton said in a video posted by our partners at the Post-Dispatch.

According to the Post-Dispatch, Burton has not officially filed legislation regarding his proposal, but said he’s asked the House staff to “put something together” that would allegedly make St. Louis City, St. Louis County, and St. Charles County the 51st state of the U.S.

“I agree with President Trump. Maybe we should have a 51st state. I just don’t think it should be Canada,” Burton said while on the House floor.

This is not the first time a city or rural area has proposed seceding from their states. An Indiana House committee has advanced a bill that would adopt several Illinois counties that have proposed seceding from the state.

Illinois voters who support the proposal argue that Chicago and Cook County hold a large sway in policies that do not align with their priorities as rural residents.

According to the 2020 census, the three jurisdictions made up about 27% of the state’s population and would currently rank 40th among all states population-wise.

Note: Video above is from January 15