ORLANDO, Fla. – Should Orlando be Florida's state capital?
State Sen. Kevin Rader, D-Boca Raton, wants Florida to study the possibility, introducing a bill this week that would explore moving the Capitol from Tallahassee, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Rader said several key factors should be considered in a study, including ease and cost of travel to the state capital and the economic impact the move would have on Tallahassee and Leon County.
According to News 6 political expert Jim Clark, the chances for the bill to pass the in the Republican-controlled Senate are small.
"There's absolutely no chance this bill will pass," Clark said. "Nobody wants to spend billions of dollars to move the Capitol to Orlando."
Tallahassee was named Florida's capital in 1824. Since then, there have been many failed attempts to change the capital to a more centralized location in the state.
"Over the last 200 years, this idea has come and gone and come again," Clark said. "There have been attempts to move it to Ocala, to move it to Gainesville, even back to St. Augustine, where it started."
The last time a move to Orlando was suggested was in 1967. It was rejected and followed by construction of the new State Capitol Building in Tallahassee.
If the capitol was changed to Orlando, it would bring a large economic impact and it would also mean an influx of state government workers.
"I think it's just fine where it is in Tallahassee," Orlando resident Kelsi McMurtrie said. "Imagine I-4 worse than it is. Can anyone imagine that? No."
If passed, the bill would require the study to be completed by Dec. 15, 2020.
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