SESSION WATCH
Died SENATE · SESSION 2026

No. SB 426

Adoption and Display of Flags by Governmental Entities
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SPONSOR
Yarborough
FILED BY
Clay Yarborough — District 4, Republican [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
7/1/2026
DIED IN
Governmental Oversight and Accountability

Filed under Environment & Water.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Adoption and Display of Flags by Governmental Entities; Prohibiting a governmental entity from displaying, placing, or causing to be placed certain flags on real property; providing a penalty; specifying flags a governmental entity may display on such property; prohibiting a local government from adopting certain ordinances or regulations relating to the flag of the local government, etc.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Restricts government property to a fixed list of flags.

Governmental entities -- including public schools, colleges, and universities -- may only display a flag from a fixed list: the U.S. and state flags, military and POW-MIA flags, tribal flags, and a handful of others.

Even an allowed flag cannot carry any word, symbol, or design representing political partisanship, political ideology, race, gender, or sexual orientation. Violating either rule costs a governmental entity $500 per day.

Local governments are separately barred from adopting an ordinance that gives their own flag the same kind of ideological or identity-based content, and any conflicting ordinance already on the books is void.

Wherever the U.S. flag is displayed, it must be placed in a more prominent position than any other flag flying alongside it.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Government flag display limited to an enumerated list majors. 256.18

AIA governmental entity may not display any flag on its real property other than one from a specific list: the U.S. flag, the state flag, another state's or country's flag, a local political subdivision's flag, a military branch flag, a POW-MIA flag, a recognized Indian tribe's flag, a public school or university's official flag, a flag of historical significance, and specified Olympic, Paralympic, or sporting-event flags.

“Display any flag on real property other than a flag listed in subsection (3).” bill text, line 30 →
§ 2 Ideological or identity content banned even on allowed flags majors. 256.18

AIEven a flag otherwise authorized under the enumerated list may not be placed if it contains or depicts any word, figure, symbol, or design of any nature representing political partisanship, political ideology, race, gender, or sexual orientation.

“which contains or depicts any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, symbol, or advertisement of any nature” bill text, line 33 →
§ 3 Violations draw a $500-per-day civil fine majors. 256.18

AIA governmental entity that violates either the display-list rule or the content rule is liable for a civil fine of $500 for each day of the violation, with proceeds deposited into the state's General Revenue Fund.

“is liable for a civil fine in the amount of $500 per day” bill text, line 38 →
§ 4 Local governments barred from ideological content in their own flag majors. 256.19

AIA local government may not adopt an ordinance or regulation that authorizes its own government flag to contain or depict any word, symbol, or design representing political partisanship, political ideology, race, gender, or sexual orientation.

“authorizes the flag of the local government to contain or depict any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing, symbol, or advertisement of any nature” bill text, line 73 →
§ 5 U.S. flag must be given the most prominent position moderates. 256.18

AIWhenever a governmental entity displays the United States flag, it must place that flag in a prominent position that outranks any other flag displayed alongside it.

“must display the flag in a prominent position that is superior to any other flag on display” bill text, line 64 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Governmental Oversight and Accountability
1/13/2026
Introduced
12/1/2025
Referred to Governmental Oversight and Accountability; Community...
11/7/2025
Filed
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 256.18
+358 / −0
s. 256.19
+97 / −0