The bill to change Utah’s state flag squeaked by on the House floor Thursday morning on a razor-thin 40-35 vote, thus ending debate on the surprising controversy that engulfed the Legislature since the start of the 2023 session.
SB31 adopts the redesigned flag as the official flag of Utah and gives three iterations of the current flag “historical” designation. All four flags can be flown at any time for any reason.
House Majority Leader Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, said the change would lead to a wider display of the flag.
“When you drive across the state, you see some Utah flags, but the majority of those flags you see are on state-owned buildings or government-owned buildings. There are going to be more people flying the Utah flag, and that’s good for our state,” Schultz told lawmakers on Thursday.
The process of redesigning the state flag began in 2019. The new design emerged from more than 5,700 submissions last year.