The sponsor of a bill that would have had voters decide whether or not to change Broward County’s name has said he will be pulling the legislation.
The proposal would have added a referendum to the November 2026 ballot where voters would decide if Broward County would become Lauderdale County.
Speaking about the bill to the South Florida Sun Sentinel, State Representative Chip LaMarca (R- Lighthouse Point) said he was “not sorry I brought it forward, but I’m disappointed in the outcome.”
He also expressed frustration that his proposal was not accepted by many of his colleagues in the Broward Legislative Delegation or the Broward County Commission.
“For me, it appears at this time that Broward County’s political leadership is comfortable being in third place in the tri-county area, while continuing to fall further behind Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties,” he said.
Members of the public appeared to have also rejected the idea of a name change. A poll conducted last week by MDW Communications found that only 7% of respondents supported a name change, while 80% opposed the idea.
LaMarca has long suggested that Broward County was lagging behind Miami Dade and Palm Beach counties because of a lack of brand awareness that he says the Lauderdale name would provide.
But the bill was met with staunch opposition from LaMarca’s colleagues on the Broward Legislative Delegation at their meeting last week. Most cited the high cost of a name change. LaMarca said he estimated the price to be around $10 million over 7 years, but that the county would see an estimated $200 million a year in revenue due to the name change. Other members of the delegation, including Hillary Cassel (R- Dania Beach), the only other Republican in the delegation, balked at those estimations, and when pressed LaMarca admitted that the data was still a work in progress.
“The information that we have is insufficient. I know that the cost is gonna be exceptionally higher than the $10 million that we are projecting, and I would really like to see that data so we have an idea before we vote on what we're gonna be asking Broward County voters to do,” Cassel said.
READ MORE: Effort to rename Broward to 'Lauderdale County' stalls. Legislative delegation tables vote
The chair of the delegation, Rep. Robin Bartleman (D- Weston) was wary of bringing the bill to Tallahassee, where Republicans have a super-majority. She felt that the bill would pass without the appropriate scrutiny.
“ Once we pass this bill, it's gonna go through. This is [Representative] Lamarca’s last year. He's highly respected. His peers are going to vote for his bill, and this bill will pass. Even if the county commission sends us a big “no” our votes aren't gonna matter,” she said.
The County Commission did weigh in after the Broward Legislative Delegation met last week. County Commissioner Michael Udine proposed a resolution to support LaMarca’s bill but it was tabled indefinitely after most of the commission did not express support for the name change.
The debate is over for the 2026 legislative session, but the name change idea is far from dead.
Broward's tourism board, formerly known as the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau has already embraced the "Lauderdale" branding, renaming itself Visit Lauderdale in 2021. The county's chamber of commerce changed its name from The Broward Alliance to The Greater Fort Lauderdale Alliance in 2010.
Business leaders in Broward County have been angling for the name change for a few years now. The Broward Workshop, a private nonprofit made up of executives of Broward businesses, were ardent supporters of LaMarca’s bill.
“The idea will continue with the support of the business community," LaMarca added.
