Summary#
AJR 32, titled “9/11 Remembrance Flag,” is a California joint resolution, not a bill amending an existing Act. It would encourage administrators of state-, county-, and municipality-owned public buildings or facilities to display the flag each September 11 and set procedures for doing so; its stated goal is remembrance. The resolution has been introduced but not adopted, so it currently creates no requirement.
- If adopted, it would encourage each building or facility’s chief administrator to display the flag on September 11 each year.
- It would also encourage those administrators to set procedures for displaying it.
- A public official or chief administrator may accept donated flags for display at those public buildings or facilities. The resolution does not require anyone to donate or accept a flag.
What it means for you#
- Public building and facility administrators: If the resolution is adopted, they would be encouraged—not required—to display the flag each September 11 and set procedures for display.
- Public officials and administrators: They may accept donated flags for this purpose. The resolution does not require them to accept donations.
- Residents and visitors: The resolution does not require a display at every covered location. It does not directly change any personal rights or duties.
Money#
No cost information is provided in the available material.
- The resolution makes no appropriation and gives no estimate for buying or displaying flags.
- It permits officials and administrators to accept donated flags, but does not say who would pay if flags are purchased.
What is unclear#
- The resolution does not set procedures for displaying the flag; it only encourages administrators to prescribe them.
- It does not explain what happens if a facility lacks a flag, or how display decisions would be made.
- The text gives no estimate of the number of facilities that might display the flag or the cost of doing so.
- The resolution is still introduced; whether it will be adopted is uncertain.
Case for#
- The resolution appears intended to remember people who died in the September 11 attacks and those who responded to them.
- A possible argument for it is that a shared flag display could serve as a public act of remembrance without requiring a purchase, since donated flags may be accepted.
- Leaving display decisions to local administrators allows them to decide whether and how to display the flag at their facilities.
Case against#
- One concern is that the resolution does not require displays, so it may not lead to consistent observance across public facilities.
- The resolution does not provide display procedures or funding, leaving those details to administrators.
- A possible trade-off is that encouraging the use of this particular remembrance flag gives it a public role without requiring facilities to use it.