House creates State Flag Review Commission after debate over historic flag designation

The House voted to create a State Flag Review Commission to solicit public submissions and make recommendations about Utah’s state flag. Representative Steve Handy, sponsor of the substitute, said the commission would be a short, low‑budget body that could consider alternative designs — including one previously proposed in House Bill 292 — and then report back to the government operations committee.

"People don't think about it," Handy said during floor remarks, arguing that other states have bolder flags that generate civic pride. He described a process that would solicit public input, including from schoolchildren, and produce a recommendation at the end of the interim.

Some members raised concerns about language in the substitute that would designate Utah’s existing flag as the "state historical flag," and whether the commission’s work might lead to an automatic redesign. Representative Seggmiller pressed for clarity: the bill, he said, "designates the current state flag as the state historical flag" in the text and he sought assurance that the substitute merely created a possibility, not an automatic change. Handy replied the commission would only create the possibility for discussion, not force a new flag.

Representative Chu said she was worried about language that a new flag should be simple enough "that a child could draw from memory" and asked whether that standard was well‑defined. Others, including Representative Lyman, supported the bill as a way to organize existing public interest and design proposals.

After debate and procedural discussion, the substitute to House Bill 219 passed 46–26 and will be transmitted to the Senate.