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SALT LAKE CITY — Members of a Utah House of Representatives committee voted Thursday to punt on making any decision on a bill that would reverse last year's decision to designate a new state flag, which may settle the issue once and for all.
The House Economic Development and Workforce Services Committee voted 7-1 to move to hold the bill, moving on to the next item in the meeting agenda, after hearing arguments on HB436 for about an hour. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, essentially mirrors an initiative brought up by residents seeking to repeal a bill passed last year that designates a new state flag.
The committee's measure doesn't outright kill the bill, but it means it also didn't advance to a full House floor vote.
"It's not over," a few of the bill's supporters said as they left the meeting room following the vote.
But several committee members, including two who said they had signed the initiative, said they have concerns with the bill, signaling that it may have a difficult time making it through the legislative process. The initiative also remains thousands of signatures shy of what's required for it to move forward with a week left before the state's deadline.
"I feel like we need to do more to hear people of Utah, but I don't want to go back and dig this up again and again," said Rep. Brett Garner, D-West Valley City, one of the members who had signed the initiative, before voting to move to the next agenda item.
A new effort against the new flag
HB436 would repeal the design that the Utah Legislature approved last year before it officially goes into code next month and reestablish the old flag that is slated to become the historical flag at the moment. An amendment to the bill accepted Thursday would tack on a provision that any effort to change the flag would have to go to the ballot instead of a legislative vote.
It's essentially the same language of an initiative several Utah residents filed last year called Restoring the Utah State Flag that they are hoping to put on the ballot this November after an effort to put last year's SB31 up for a referendum failed to garner enough signatures.
SB31, which doesn't go into effect until March 9 because of a technicality in Utah code, designates a new design that emerged from Utah's More Than a Flag campaign and went through some alterations during the 2023 legislative session. It also turns the old design into the state's "historical" design, something that was added to appease fans of a flag originally designed in 1911 with a few alterations since then.
Arguments about the flag
Tracie Halvorsen, one of the residents behind the Restoring the Utah State Flag effort, said the initiative and bill are both a "do-over" on the entire flag process. She spoke in favor of the bill after showing the committee a video of residents who support efforts to put the flag up for a public vote.
Those in favor of repealing the new flag said they support the effort because they believe people should vote on the measure, while others felt that having two flags either creates division or detracts from Utah history. Parts of Thursday's meeting channeled the same debates that were brought up last year.
"I see (the old design) as a symbol of Utah and this new flag, to me, is like a symbol that Utah has been conquered by a woke ideology," said Kristin Richey, one of the residents in support of HB436, noting that the new flag doesn't include items like American flags on it like the old one does.
Others attended the meeting in support of last year's SB31. They argue that the law won't erase the old flag and allows residents to choose which one they'd like to fly. Some said they believe that residents have already spoken on the issue.
"The state Legislature passes bills every year that I do not like, but I trust the process," said Thad Weiland, of South Jordan, adding that there are ways through referendums and initiatives to potentially repeal bills. "When (those efforts fail), I think I need to lick my wounds and accept the will of the people. I'm afraid of the precedent that this would set."
An uphill battle?
Committee members seemed to agree when it came down to voting on HB436. Like Garner, Rep. Ariel Defay, R-Kaysville, signed the initiative, but she acknowledged that there haven't been enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot.
Halvorsen said the group has collected about 100,000 signatures so far. The Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office, which oversees elections, reported the group had collected 79,670 signatures, as of Wednesday morning.
Organizers have a week left to gather 134,298 signatures from verified registered voters, including "specific signature thresholds" in at least 26 of the state's 29 state senate districts, for it to land on the ballot, according to the office. Defay said she's hesitant to support a bill if the measure doesn't get enough signatures.
"I think it's because a lot of people do like the new flag," she said before the committee vote.
Rep. Melissa Garff Ballard, R-North Salt Lake, added that it may be "time for us to come together" and move on from the subject.
"There's no books being burned, there's no history being burned. ... I would love for you to channel your energy into how can we preserve our principles and values that are important to us," she said, speaking to the gallery. "I love this state and I want to be united against the real threats that we have."
It's unclear if the committee will revisit the bill after the vote. All bills must be passed by the House and Senate before going to Gov. Spencer Cox's desk for final approval, which may be an uphill battle. Senate President Stuart Adams declined to talk about the bill during a meeting with reporters on Thursday, saying he won't discuss the measure until it passes the House of Representatives first.
Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, who sponsored last year's SB31, didn't attend Thursday's meeting; however, he told KSL.com that he will "respect the process" as the initiative and bill play out.
Contributing: Bridger Beal-Cvetko
