Suffolk County Comptroller Joseph Sawicki renewed his call to make Long Island the nation's 51st state at a forum Friday.

Sawicki has been talking about the state of Long Island since 1991. He first proposed it when he was in the state Assembly. Sawicki says if Long Island were a state, tax money would stay on the Island. ?They're using us as their cash cow,? Sawicki says referring to the state. ?And at this point, they're milking us dry. We can't take it any longer.?

Martin Melkonian, an economics professor at Hofstra University, says creating a state might not save money at all.

?We'd have to have our own prison system, we'd have to have our own courts, we'd have to have our own motor vehicle bureau, and so on and so forth,? he says.

Breaking away from the rest of the state needs the approval of the state Legislature and the U.S. Congress.

Dowling's Economic and Social Policy Institute is studying the potential of a Long Island state and will deliver a report in the fall.

Click to watch more on how statehood could impact Long Island?s taxpayers