The Maine Legislature is, for the second time in three years, considering a bill that would change the state flag to the increasingly popular pine tree and North Star version.
The bill left the State and Local Government committee Feb. 10 with a divided vote, and now goes to the House chamber. A date on when the House will take it up hasn t been set. I think it s unifying, said Rep. Sean Paulhus, D-Bath, the bill s sponsor. I ve seen that flag on houses much more than the official Maine flag.
That was the message, too, from testimony at the committee s public hearing Feb. 3, including from businesses that said it will boost their sales while also focusing on Maine s special brand.
Legislator raises new call for old state flag
Rep. Sean Paulhus of Bath has hopes to revert the state flag back to one that was used in the early 1900s.
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Rep. Sean Paulhus, D-Bath, has drafted legislation for the state to replace the existing state flag, left, with the version that flew over the state from 1901-1909.
File photos / Portland Press Herald
BATH A blue flag bearing the official state seal has flown over the State House in Augusta for more than 100 years, but for the second year in a row a legislator is working to replace it with the flag that represented Maine in the early 1900s.