An amended bill in the Utah Legislature, House Bill 77, would restrict which flags may be displayed on state and local government buildings, sponsor Representative Trevor Lee and critics said. The amended bill passed out of a House committee Thursday and now heads to the House floor.

Representative Trevor Lee, the bill sponsor, told reporters the measure is meant to create political neutrality by limiting displays to a specific list of flags and excluding others, including flags associated with political or social causes. He identified examples of currently displayed flags that would remain on the approved list — such as the Salt Lake City flag flown over Washington Square — and said the bill expands an earlier ban that applied to public schools to include state and local government buildings and events held there.

The bill would prohibit displays of flags that are not on the approved list, Representative Lee said. Under amendments discussed in committee, the bill would allow government employees who do not teach in public education classrooms to display flags at their personal desks. "We will address that as we get there. But for now, let's just keep it very simple, very basic," Representative Lee said.

Aaron Welcher, communications director for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), criticized HB 77 as an attempt to silence the LGBTQ+ community and said the bill raises broader First Amendment concerns. "It doesn't matter whether you agree with this or not because what you should be caring about, is that your First Amendment rights are being infringed," Welcher said. He also warned the measure could limit expression at public venues such as the Utah State Capitol and the University of Utah, which he described as spaces that traditionally allow varied expression.

The text discussed at the committee stage, as described by participants, would exclude flags that support causes, sports teams or events from the approved list. The Olympics flag displayed at the Kerns Olympic Veil was cited as an example of a flag that would be prohibited under the proposed language. One commenter at the event expressed support for limiting displays, saying that if government entities "just stay out of that and just fly the flags that they're allowed to, then we just won't have those problems." Another commentator called the measure "on its face" unconstitutional.

The committee-approved version of HB 77 is an amendment to an earlier bill that originally banned certain flags from being displayed in public schools; sponsors said the current amendment extends those restrictions to state and local government buildings. The committee record provided no vote tally in the public remarks; participants said only that the amended bill passed out of committee and is scheduled for floor consideration.

Reporting for PBS Utah, Lauren Steinbrecher contributed the on-scene account that the amended HB 77 passed out of the House committee Thursday and is now headed toward the House floor.