By Kyle Pfannenstiel, Idaho Capital Sun
The Idaho House on Thursday widely passed a bill that would fine local and state governments for flying flags that aren’t on the Legislature’s pre-approved list, including one that’s been flying in Bonners Ferry for decades.
Rep. Ted Hill, an Eagle Republican, has said his bill, House Bill 561, is meant to target the city of Boise for flying an LGBTQ+ pride flag. Boise’s City Council voted to declare the pride flag and the organ donor flag as official flags, in an apparent move to work around the Legislature’s flag ban law passed last year.
Hill’s bill would add a $2,000 daily fine, per offending flag, to the flag ban law from last year, which lacked an enforcement process.
The bill’s list of approved flags largely includes official flags of domestic governments or the U.S. military, with some exceptions. Only city and county flags made official before 2023 could be flown.
After a brief debate Thursday, the Idaho House passed House Bill 561 on a 58-11 vote. Three Republican lawmakers — Reps. Lori McCann, Jack Nelsen, and Mark Sauter — joined eight Democrats in opposing the bill. One House Democrat, Rep. Brooke Green, was absent for the vote.
Debating the legislation on the House floor, Hill told lawmakers the bill was about bringing America together.
“That’s the objective here — to get away from these political, religious and ideological flags that could be along with the American flag,” Hill said.
Sauter, a Republican from Sandpoint in North Idaho, said the city of Bonners Ferry — a small North Idaho town near the Canadian border — has flown the Canadian flag for more than 50 years.
“I see no problem having a Canadian flag fly there, and neither do the residents,” Sauter said.
Rep. Ilana Rubel, a Boise Democrat who leads the House’s minority party, said the bill is clearly an effort to ban the city of Boise from flying an LGBTQ+ pride flag, calling the bill a “flagrant intrusion on local control.”
“We have seen this body doing wild contortions to try to somehow make it appear as something other than that, because passing a bill to just say the city of Boise can’t pass a pride flag would be clearly unconstitutional,” Rubel said.
Flag displays would be restricted on government property, which is defined as “land owned and maintained by the governmental entity, including buildings, adjoining land, parks, roads and boulevards.”
The list of flags that could be displayed on government property is largely limited to domestic government flags, including the U.S. flags; state, city or county flags made official before 2023; flags of U.S. military branches and units; the POW/MIA flag; and flags of recognized Native American tribes.
On special occasions, flags of countries besides the U.S. could be flown. The House amended the bill to allow on special occasions for the flag of the Basque autonomous community to be flown. The House also amended the bill to allow the display of flags, banners or pennants that “are not political, religious, or ideological in nature.”
Temporary parades or assemblies on government property would be exempt.
The bill would also allow Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador to enforce the law through lawsuits to stop cities from flying certain flags and to seek civil court fines.
The bill now heads to the Idaho Senate. To become law, Idaho bills must pass the House and Senate, and avoid the governor’s veto.
Idaho Capital Sun is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Idaho Capital Sun maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Christina Lords for questions: info@idahocapitalsun.com.