SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Republican party central committee met earlier this month where a resolution was passed endorsing a repeal of SB 31 known as the ‘Flag Bill’.
The bill has been debated over the last little while, but in a legislative session a 5-year process was finalized to create a new state flag for Utah.
Some criticized not just the new flag that was selected, but the process as well, saying it did not involve the public for very long.
A signature-gathering drive is underway to get a petition on the ballot which would let voters have a chance to weigh in.
The driving force for the effort, Chad Saunders, returned to KVNU’s For the People program last week and thanked one person in particular for the ballot initiative.
“I helped Fred Cox, and Fred and I got things rolling on the referendum that we tried to get passed in the spring. But, really, this ballot initiative is driven by Tracie Halvorsen, who is a constituent of the sponsoring senator, and one of the folks who have felt for a long time (that) maybe there’s some disconnect between some of our legislators and our citizens,” Saunders explained.
He said Halvorsen has a great legal mind, works in the legal profession, got things together and built this ballot initiative.
As far as the state central committee goes, it not only gives a statement about how the members of the Republican party feels about it.
“But, what it does is, it gives, kind of marching orders for the party to do. To put out a press release, letting them know about the resolution, to make sure that it gets into the hands of all of the voters, the delegates across the state. And more importantly into the hands of the governor, the lieutenant governor and the legislators.”
Saunders says this is a clear and concise message, basically to repeal SB 31 and restore Utah’s flag, and to do so in perpetuity, and then consider adapting the new design, reusing that logo in another capacity other than as a flag.