A new flag commemorating Utah’s 125th anniversary was raised above the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday.
The commemorative flag was approved in the last days of the 2021 Legislature as a part of SB48. The bill also created a task force that will review the current flag code and review if the banner should be updated. It will fly below the official state flag through the end of the year.
In 2018, businessman and onetime GOP gubernatorial candidate Richard Martin started Organization for a New Utah Flag. In 2019, he told the Deseret News the current state flag, which has remained essentially unchanged for the past 100 or so years, has too many symbols, an overall poor design and no longer carries meaning for the average Utahn.
Utah may soon have a new commemorative flag to honor 125 years of statehood. Senate Bill 48, that creates the State Flag Task Force and establishes a commemorative state flag, was approved by the House and Senate. It now heads to the governor's desk for final approval. The Organization for a New Utah Flag is behind the push. “When we began this movement in 2017, we knew it was a cause worth fighting for,” the organization’s chair Richard Martin.
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Organization for a New Utah Flag has proposed a new design for the Utah state flag. This flag, designed by Jonathan Martin, is part of a Utah Senate bill that was just passed to make the design a commemorative flag for Utah’s 125th anniversary of statehood. (Organization for a New Utah Flag)
The Utah House of Representatives passed a bill to create a Utah state flag task force and designate a flag commemorating the 125th anniversary of Utah’s statehood in the final days of the legislative session.
The task force will undertake a potential redesigning of the Utah state flag and make Jonathan Martin’s flag design from the Organization for a New Utah Flag the commemorative flag for Utah’s 125th anniversary.
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The Utah state flag blows in the wind in downtown Provo next to the American flag and Utah County flag. A new senate bill is proposing a taskforce to redesign the state flag. (Cassidy Wixom)
Utah State Sen. Daniel McCay wants to create a State Flag Task Force to undertake a redesign of the state flag.
McCay said the task force will “see if we can modernize our existing flag” to be more distinctive and comply with flag design standards from the North American Vexillological Association (NAVA).
“I feel optimistic that people recognize there is an opportunity for a rebranding or a recapturing of the essence of Utah,” McCay said.
Group advocates changing flag to commemorate Utah s statehood
Should Utah have a new flag to commemorate 125 years of statehood?
The Organization for a New Utah Flag started in 2018 already wanted a change and now wants it to be part of the state s 125th birthday. It sent out a press release that explained the symbolism packed into its red, white, blue and gold design.
Two state lawmakers are also looking to update Utah s flag, though their proposal for a new flag doesn t embrace the design proposed by the Organization for a New Utah Flag or any other design, and in fact calls for a flag submission process. Lawmakers introduced a process in last year s legislative session. You can see the State Flag Taskforce bill at le.utah.gov/~2021/bills/static/SB0048.html.