Assembly Resolution AR 68 encourages the chief administrator of each state, county, and municipal public building or facility in California to display the 9/11 Remembrance Flag on September 11 and to establish procedures for its display. The resolution also allows public officials or chief administrators to accept donations of one or more 9/11 Remembrance Flags for display at those public sites.
The measure is ceremonial: it does not create a new legal duty or funding stream, but it standardizes an option for local commemoration and signals state-level support for using a specific flag as an educational and unifying emblem on Patriot Day.
At a Glance
What It Does
AR 68 is an Assembly resolution that encourages — but does not require — display of the 9/11 Remembrance Flag on September 11 and authorizes public administrators to accept donated flags. It asks administrators to prescribe procedures necessary for display and directs the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to transmit copies of the resolution for distribution.
Who It Affects
Chief administrators and managers of state, county, and municipal buildings and facilities; local school districts and civic institutions that run Patriot Day events; veterans’, first‑responder, and civic organizations that donate flags or organize displays.
Why It Matters
The resolution gives local officials an explicitly endorsed option for commemorating 9/11 using a single, recognizable emblem; it may shape how public institutions allocate limited operational time and space for Patriot Day observances and how civic groups propose donated material for display.
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What This Bill Actually Does
AR 68 frames the 9/11 Remembrance Flag as a unifying symbol and asks public-building administrators across California to display it on September 11. The resolution is written as a ceremonial instruction: it "encourages" display rather than commanding it, and it expressly permits administrators to accept donated flags.
The text asks administrators to adopt any procedures they deem necessary to govern that display, which leaves operational details to local authorities.
The bill text recounts the flag’s origin and symbolism: a Virginian designed the flag on September 20, 2001; its components — an Old Glory blue field, a single white star, five white bars, and a combination of red and white stripes — are each tied to elements of the attacks and those who responded. The resolution cites prior state-level recognition (Virginia codified the flag in 2018) and notes adoption by other state legislatures and frequent use nationwide in commemorations and school lessons.The resolution also places the commemoration in the wider context the bill’s sponsors emphasize: casualty and service figures tied to 9/11 and its aftermath, continued health impacts on first responders, and the fact that many Americans were born after the attacks.
Practically, AR 68 directs only that copies be transmitted by the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to the author for distribution; it does not appropriate funds, impose enforcement mechanisms, or change existing flag-display law.Because the measure is a resolution rather than a statute, compliance is voluntary. That voluntariness shifts the work of implementation — procurement, storage, display protocols, and any decision-making around donated flags — to local administrators who must balance this request against competing display obligations and local policies.
The Five Things You Need to Know
The 9/11 Remembrance Flag was designed on September 20, 2001, by a Virginian and is described in the resolution with specific symbolic elements tied to the Pentagon, the Twin Towers, United Airlines Flight 93, and rescue workers.
Virginia added the 9/11 Remembrance Flag to its code in 2018, making it the first state to codify the design; the resolution notes subsequent adoption by the legislatures of Oklahoma and Delaware.
The bill recites casualty and aftermath figures cited by the sponsor: nearly 3,000 deaths on September 11, over 50 Californians killed that day, more than 3,000 first responders who have since died of 9/11-related illness, and over 7,000 U.S. Armed Forces deaths in the Global War on Terrorism.
AR 68 highlights that the flag has been used in large civic displays and school lessons nationwide — including a recurring Azusa Rotary Club Field of Glory event — positioning the design as an educational tool as well as a memorial emblem.
The resolution directs the Chief Clerk of the Assembly to transmit copies of AR 68 to the author for distribution, creating an administrative record and making the text available to local officials and organizations.
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Recitals establishing context and symbolism
This section collects factual and symbolic statements that justify the resolution: casualty counts, the design origins and meanings of elements of the 9/11 Remembrance Flag, examples of prior state adoption, and references to civic uses. Practically, these recitals do the political work of explaining why the Assembly supports promoting the flag, but they carry no operational requirements on their own.
Encouragement to display the flag on September 11
The core operative language asks chief administrators of state, county, and municipal public buildings to display the flag on Patriot Day and to "prescribe procedures necessary for its display." Because the resolution uses encouraging language rather than mandatory verbs, it imposes no legal duty; instead it creates official state-level imprimatur for local procedures and priorities around commemoration.
Permission to accept donated 9/11 Remembrance Flags
This clause explicitly authorizes public officials or chief administrators to accept donations of the 9/11 Remembrance Flag for display at public buildings. The permission is permissive rather than prescriptive: administrators retain discretion about whether to accept donations, but the clause reduces a common procedural barrier by signaling legislative comfort with donations used for display.
Transmittal instruction to Assembly Chief Clerk
The resolution directs the Chief Clerk to transmit copies of the resolution to the author for distribution. Mechanically modest, this creates a distribution pathway so local governments, civic groups, and administrators can receive the text without seeking it through other channels.
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Explore Government in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- Families of 9/11 victims and first responders — the resolution endorses a visible statewide commemoration option that recognizes loss and sacrifice and can provide a focal point for local memorials.
- Civic and veterans organizations that stage Patriot Day events — the state-level encouragement strengthens requests to display the 9/11 Remembrance Flag and can simplify outreach to public facilities for event staging.
- Schools and educators — the resolution highlights a single emblem with defined symbolism that educators can use to teach about 9/11 and its aftermath in Patriot Day lessons.
- Local communities seeking a standardized commemorative practice — the measure gives municipalities a ready-made symbol and narrative to incorporate into ceremonies and displays.
- Flag designers and vendors familiar with the 9/11 Remembrance Flag — endorsement at the state level may increase demand for officially described designs used in public displays.
Who Bears the Cost
- Chief administrators of public buildings and facilities — even without a funding appropriation, administrators may need staff time to adopt procedures, store and maintain donated flags, and coordinate displays.
- Local governments with limited facilities budgets — accepting and displaying donated flags can create maintenance, storage, and replacement costs that are not funded by the state.
- Procurement and facilities offices — these groups must handle donated property under existing rules, potentially navigating recordkeeping, acceptance policies, and conflict with procurement laws or gift-acceptance procedures.
- Civic groups and donors — organizations that provide flags may incur production, shipping, and insurance costs for donated flags intended for long-term public display.
- Schools and smaller civic venues — where display space and scheduling are constrained, adopting another formal emblem for Patriot Day may complicate existing commemoration plans and require administrative adjustments.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is between honoring a widely recognized, standardized symbol to strengthen collective remembrance and leaving implementation voluntary: endorsing one flag clarifies commemoration but shifts the real costs and logistical choices onto local administrators who receive no funding or detailed guidance, creating a tension between symbolic unity and practical feasibility.
AR 68 is ceremonial, but ceremonial endorsements have practical ripple effects. By promoting a single emblem and recounting specific symbolic meanings, the resolution encourages a standard approach that local officials may feel political pressure to follow even though the measure imposes no mandate or funding.
That dynamic raises implementation questions the text does not resolve: what exact design specifications qualify as a 9/11 Remembrance Flag for display; whether donated flags must meet manufacturing or provenance standards; and how acceptance interacts with local gift‑acceptance rules and public‑property accounting.
The permissive authorization to accept donations simplifies one hurdle but creates potential administrative burdens. Municipalities must reconcile existing flag‑display codes and the federal Flag Code's guidance about precedence and placement, while also establishing storage, maintenance, and liability protocols for donated items.
Smaller jurisdictions with limited staff could face operational strain if community groups expect swift implementation without funding. Finally, the resolution signals statewide preference for one memorial symbol, which may crowd out alternative commemorations or raise questions about inclusivity where communities prefer different forms of remembrance.
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