OGDEN — Forget about tax cuts, education funding, transgender kids and some of the other red-hot topics that have surged during the 2023 Utah legislative session.

Weber County GOPers are saying no to revamping the Utah state flag, as outlined in Senate Bill 31. The Weber County Republican Party issued a statement on Friday calling on Utah lawmakers to oppose the measure, citing what they believe to be widespread opposition to the change.

It’s not necessarily about aesthetics, according to Jake Sawyer, the party chairperson, but rather the money and effort put into the flag redesign drive. The effort has cost around $300,000-$500,000, according to the party’s statement.

“They’re upset with the amount of money that’s been spent on this and they don’t see where the support is to do it,” Sawyer said. “I don’t think it’s a matter of imagery or the looks of it.”

The party’s Central Committee, made up of precinct chairs and vice chairs, voted overwhelmingly to call for opposition to S.B. 31 at a meeting on Thursday, according to the statement. Party officials relayed word of the action to Utah’s House members on Friday, aiming to reach them before they vote on the measure, which passed muster in the Utah Senate on Jan. 30 in an 18-10 vote.

Sawyer pointed to posts of James Owens, who’s active in the Weber County Republican Party, on the Weber County Conservatives Facebook page. According to data Owens compiled and posted, large majorities of respondents to surveys on the flag question in Utah House District 11 and Utah Senate District 4, which cover portions of Weber County, favor keeping Utah’s existing flag.

“We focus on this because it is a solution to something where there was no problem and the legislature is wasting their time and our money on it,” Owens said in a Facebook post. He sees the issue as “something that a few so-called elites are trying to force upon the people for their own good as they suppose.”

The proposed new flag is a tri-color banner — blue on top, white in the middle, red on the bottom — with a beehive in the middle representing Utah’s history, industry and sense of community, according to More Than a Flag, a website managed by the Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement. It features a mountain landscape and a five-point star — changed from a prior version with an eight-point star — that represents “Utah’s statehood and the five historic Tribal Nations.”

The proposed new flag emerged from design submissions from more than 7,000 Utahns, according to More Than a Flag. The effort started early last year and the final flag proposal was unveiled last November.

Under S.B. 31, the existing state flag would become the “ceremonial state flag.” The current state flag is largely blue with a shield in the middle featuring a beehive image. An eagle is atop the shield with outstretched wings and two U.S. flags are featured on either side of the shield.

Sen. Ann Millner voted for S.B. 31 in the Jan. 30 Senate vote while Sens. Gregg Buxton and John Johnson voted against it. All are Republicans and each represents a portion of Weber County.

Newsletter