Senate concurs with House on state flag amendments, designates current flag as 'historic'

Salt Lake City — The Utah Senate adopted the House substitute to Fourth Substitute Senate Bill 31, making changes to state-flag designations and adding protections for multiple flag artworks.

Senator McKay, explaining the changes, said the chamber replaced a prior label for the existing flag with the term “historic state flag” to honor the state’s history. He said the substitute added two designs and included an artist’s recreation of a 1913 flag associated with the USS Utah, noting that protecting those designs connects the State to historical moments such as Pearl Harbor.

‘‘What we heard from people over and over again is the preference towards the title historical flag,’’ McKay said on the floor. He added that the bill preserves artwork created in earlier cleanups and recognizes a recreated 1913 design done for the USS Utah.

The Senate made the motion to concur and passed the bill on a recorded vote; the substitute was returned to the House for the speaker’s signature.

Vote: Fourth substitute Senate Bill 31 passed the Senate (recorded roll-call on the floor); bill will be returned to the House for further consideration.