Senate Bill 2846

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 3-3-16, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CHANGE THE DESIGN OF THE OFFICIAL FLAG OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI TO THAT OF THE FLAG KNOWN AS THE "STENNIS FLAG"; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. Section 3-3-16, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

[Until July 1, 2019, this section shall read as follows:]

3-3-16. The official flag of the State of Mississippi shall have the following design: with width two-thirds (2/3) of its length; with the union (canton) to be square, in width two-thirds (2/3) of the width of the flag; the ground of the union to be red and a broad blue saltire thereon, bordered with white and emblazoned with thirteen (13) mullets or five-pointed stars, corresponding with the number of the original States of the Union; the field to be divided into three (3) bars of equal width, the upper one blue, the center one white, and the lower one, extending the whole length of the flag, red (the national colors); this being the flag adopted by the Mississippi Legislature in the 1894 Special Session.

[From and after July 1, 2019, this section shall read as follows:]

3-3-16. The official flag of the State of Mississippi, which is known as the "Stennis Flag," shall have the following design:

(a) Nineteen (19) stars forming a circle around a larger center star, which represents Mississippi as the twentieth state to join the Union in 1817.

(b) The centering of the blue star on the field of white is an inverted "Bonnie Blue," which is a reference to the state's Secession (1861-1865).

(c) The red bars on the fly side and on the staff side stand in opposition recognizing the passionate differences we sometimes harbor as well as in honor of those who have given their lives in pursuit of liberty and justice for all.

(d) The circular shape of stars symbolizes wholeness and continuity and is also drawn from artifacts of indigenous peoples to our region, particularly the Choctaw Nation.

SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.