It's been running through New York State government in Albany for several years and we still hear folks talking about splitting the state into separate states but now it appears autonomous regions should be easier to achieve.

The think tank in political circles believes by forming Regions, not a state or moving counties between states, Congress can then be legally bypassed.

This some say could become a reality and all that is needed is an amendment to the New York State Constitution.

This proposal of splitting the state into separate upstate and downstate entities has for several years generated talk in Albany.

A State Senator lawmaker representing a suburban-rural district has previously proposed that a study be done for separating the upstate and downstate regions.

Some feel it's time to at least examine what a split in the state would look like.

One proposal defines downstate as all five New York City boroughs, Long Island's Nassau and Suffolk counties and Westchester and Rockland Counties. The state's 53 other counties would be considered upstate.

Splitting upstate from downstate has been discussed on and off in Albany for years.

Supporters of the idea have pointed to the growing divide between the two regions' political and social leanings.

The impulse is understandable… there are real differences between upstate and downstate but in reality it would be more than difficult to split New York into separate states.

The idea to partition New York State into three autonomous regions, the New Amsterdam Region (upstate), the New York Region (New York City) and the Montauk Region (Long Island and Rockland and Westchester alongside a token state government to comply with the United States Constitution might be more workable for all.

But… getting all of the above working together on this is the major problem.