The financial salvation for Miami Dade College is near death in Tallahassee -- on the final day of the session -- with a lawmaker from Broward apparently standing in the bill's way.

''This represents our future; we have no other choice for survival but to have this measure go to the voters,'' MDC president Eduardo Padrón said Thursday.

The bill would give MDC the power to ask Miami-Dade County for a special referendum asking voters to raise the local sales tax by a half-penny -- up to 8 cents -- to benefit the college.

Approval of the sales-tax referendum would translate into more than $100 million annually for MDC for the initial five years.

The measure passed the Senate on Monday but hasn't made it onto the House floor. Padrón and Rep. Juan Carlos Zapata, a Miami Republican, blamed that on a procedural move by Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale.

Bogdanoff chairs the House Finance and Tax Council that, wary of measures that could raise taxes, did not move the bill forward.

An angry Padrón said he doesn't understand why Bogdanoff has not released the bill, which sailed through other committees, and allowed it to come up for discussion.

''Now, the only person that can bring it on the floor Friday is the speaker; we are urging him to do that so as not to prevent a true democratic process from taking place,'' he said.

Bogdanoff could not be reached for a comment Thursday evening.

Rep. J.C. Planas, a Miami Republican and one of the bill's co-sponsors, said if the measure came before the House, ``we have the votes.''

But that would require Speaker Larry Cretul to put the bill before the House on Friday -- a highly unlikely move because the measure didn't clear all its committees.

Despite harsh economic times, Padrón is convinced that Miami-Dade voters would support MDC -- if asked.

In November, voters statewide rejected a similar move for all Florida community colleges.

But the ballot received a little more than 61 percent approval in Miami-Dade. Padrón sees that as a sign that local voters understand the college's vital role in the community.

``We need to get this bill passed so we can pose the question to voters -- who I know will support MDC.''

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