Mississippi Poised to Change State Flag (Link/Quotes included)

House just voted 84-35 to suspend rules and introduce a bill to immediately do away with the state flag. They will put new designs to the public for vote. There will be no State flag in the interim. Reeves has said if a bill makes to his desk he will sign it. It still has to go through the Senate.

Clarion Ledger Link

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Legislation that lays the groundwork for a new flag began moving through the House early in the afternoon, as House Resolution 79 passed 84-35.

If approved, the House's plan would take down the current flag and set up a nine-member commission to design a new one. That design would include the words "In God We Trust" and no Confederate symbols. Voters would then get to approve or reject the commission's design in November.

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“It’s time to end it,” Reeves wrote on social media. “If (lawmakers) send me a bill this weekend, I will sign it.”

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Changing the flag will require a two-step process because normal legislative deadlines have passed. Lawmakers in both chambers must first suspend deadline rules with a two-thirds majority — which was the step the House took Saturday. Then, they can take a separate vote on the flag itself.

It wasn't clear when the Senate would vote on the resolution.

In the Senate, changing the state flag appeared early Saturday to hinge on three or four votes. Legislative leaders for days have worked to secure enough votes for a two-thirds majority as pressure mounted from religious leaders, sports figures, statewide elected officials and others.

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