Florida Republicans are trying for the fourth year in a row to ban political flags atop government buildings, including Pride, MAGA, or Black Lives Matter banners.
Filed by Republicans Rep. David Borrero and Sen. Clay Yarborough, HB 347 and SB 426 would ban flags referencing politics, race, gender, or sexual orientation being flown on government-owned buildings. This is the fourth time Borrero, from Miami, has carried this legislation. It’s died each year before reaching either the House or Senate floor.
Identical in each chamber, the language bans schools, universities, state governments, local governments, or political boards from displaying flags depicting “any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, symbol, or advertisement of any nature which represents political partisanship, political ideology, race, gender, or sexual orientation.”
It would preempt local ordinances allowing these flags. Out-of-compliance entities would be fined $500 per day. The penalties would be collected through the Department of State and deposited into the general revenue fund, the state’s main budgetary account.
Last year, the bill was filed by then-Sen. Randy Fine to specifically target Palestinian flags during the Israel-Hamas war. Fine withdrew his bill to run for Congress in March. This year’s measure, however, allows these buildings to fly flags from other states or countries or that have “historical significance.”
The 2024 bill was sponsored by Borrero and Sen. Jonathan Martin, and the 2023 bill by Borrero and then-Sen. Jay Collins. Collins resigned his post in August to serve as lieutenant governor.
If passed, the legislation would take effect on July 1, 2026. The session starts on Jan. 13.
–Liv Caputo, Florida Phoenix
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