BOISE, ID – After the city of Boise declared the LGBTQ+ pride flag as an official flag to work around a state law, an Idaho Republican lawmaker proposed banning cities and counties from flying their own official flags.
A long trend: How the Idaho Legislature has removed local governments’ powers
But after an unusually lengthy debate Monday, the Idaho House State Affairs Committee introduced the bill and removed language that would’ve banned local government entities from flying their own official flags. The new bill by Rep. Ted Hill, a Republican from Eagle, would create fines for government entities that violate a recent state law that banned state and local government entities from flying any flags other than official domestic government and military flags.
Hill said the bill was targeted at Boise.
He falsely claimed that Boise Mayor Lauren McLean acted alone to make the LGBTQ+ pride flag an official flag of the city. The City Council voted to add the flag and organ donation flags as official city flags in May 2025, BoiseDev reported.
“She just made it so. She’s having to do this because she gave a middle finger to the Legislature, pretty much,” Hill told fellow lawmakers. “‘Hey, I’m not going to follow the law, and I’m going to do it the way I want to do it.’”
After the Utah Legislature passed a similar state law last year, the Salt Lake City council voted to adopt versions of new city flags that resemble the LGTBQ+ pride flag, the transgender pride flag and the Juneteenth flag, Utah News Dispatch reported.
Hill’s bill this year would allow Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador to enforce Idaho’s flag restriction law through lawsuits to stop cities from flying certain flags and seeking civil court fines. The bill would fine government entities that violate the flag ban law $2,000 each day, per each offending flag.
Hill’s bill would also amend last year’s flag ban law to allow Idaho government entities to display official flags of Idaho colleges or universities, and the Basque autonomous community flag.
Rep. Bruce Skaug, a Nampa Republican, proposed introducing the bill but removing the ban on government entities flying city and county flags. The committee widely supported Skaug’s motion on a 12-2 vote, just after a vote to introduce the bill but tweak it to ban flying other states’ flags failed on a 7-7 tie vote.
But after Skaug’s tweak to the bill, it isn’t immediately clear if it would allow Boise to be fined for flying the LGBTQ+ pride flag.
The bill could return for a full committee hearing with public testimony in the coming days and weeks, before it would advance to a full vote in the House. To become law, Idaho bills must pass the House and Senate and avoid the governor’s veto.
Last year’s Idaho law restricting what flags state and local government entities can display was one of several bills that removed local governments’ powers, the Idaho Capital Sun reported.
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.
