A new Utah flag…is quite possible

A "designer favorite" from the Organization for a New Utah Flag. Photo: Organization for a New Utah Flag

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. — Utah may be getting a new state flag. The State Flag Task Force met for the first time this past Wednesday at the Utah State Capitol. The task force was created during the 2021 General Session.

The meeting was chaired by Gov. Spencer Cox. Other members of the task force include Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Sens. Jacob Anderegg (R-Lehi), Luz Escamilla (D-Salt Lake City), and Daniel McCay (R-Riverton), Reps. Stephen Handy (R-Layton), Robert Spendlove (R-Salt Lake City), and Elizabeth Weight (D-Salt Lake City), and Jill Love, the executive director of the Department of Cultural & Community Engagement.

The current state flag features the state seal against a field of dark blue. The year 1847 on the seal symbolizes the year the Mormons came to Utah. The other year depicted, 1896, is when Utah officially became the 45th U.S. state. The beehive on the shield is for the state motto of industry.

In 2018, Rep. Handy told The Salt Tribune, “the Utah flag is considered by these vexillologists to be an ’S.O.B.’ – seal on a bedsheet.” Vexillology is the study of flags.

If a new flag is chosen, the current state flag will become the Governor’s Flag. The state seal will remain the same.

The meeting, which was open to the public, was Wednesday, June 16, at 4 p.m. in the Utah State Capitol Boardroom. The Organization for a New Utah flag has provided some designer favorites.