User:TheTaraStark/sandbox/Flag of Pennsylvania

The flag of Pennsylvania is an official emblem of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, alongside the seal and the coat of arms. The flag was first adopted in 1798, and was standardized in 1907. It is a blue flag charged with the state coat of arms of Pennsylvania.

Design
The flag of Pennsylvania is a blue background (by law, the same blue as the flag of the United States) charged with the Pennsylvania coat of arms.

Symbolism
The Pennsylvania coat of arms features a shield adorned with symbols of Pennsylvania's strengths—a ship carrying state commerce to all parts of the world; a clay-red plough, a symbol of Pennsylvania's rich natural resources; and three golden sheaves of wheat, representing fertile fields and Pennsylvania's wealth of human thought and action. An olive branch and cornstalk cross limbs beneath—symbols of peace and prosperity. The state motto, "Virtue, Liberty and Independence", appears festooned below. The shield is flanked by horses. Atop the coat of arms is a North American bald eagle, representing Pennsylvania's loyalty to the United States.

History
Originally authorized by the state in 1798, the current design was enacted by law on June 13, 1907, specifically standardizing the field of blue to be the "same color as the blue field in the flag of the United States".

NAVA Ranking
In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed 100 of its members and 337 members of the general public on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags. The survey ranked Pennsylvania's flag 57th out of the 72. This was believed to be due to both the complexity of its design, and its inability to stand out among a sea of similar “seal-on-a-bedsheet” designs common to more than half of U.S. state flags flags.

Attempts to change the flag
Between 2004 and 2014, several attempts were made to add the word "Pennsylvania" to the state flag. According to former State Representative Tim Solobay (who introduced the first set of bills), this was intended to make Pennsylvania's flag more unique and identifiable.

While the bill failed to leave committee in the first two sessions it was introduced, a 2006 survey offered by Solobay's office to help refine the defined design may have swayed legislators to act on the bill, which was amended on May 7th, 2007. On June 11th, 2007, The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill, 164–31. The Senate State Government Committee never considered the bill, which died at the end of the Pennsylvania General Assembly's two-year session.

The bill was reintroduced by Solobay in 2009, and on the next session day, a second similar bill was introduced by former State Representative Gary Haluska with a competing definition of the design. Neither bill was raised in committee that session. Haluska's proposal was reintroduced alone in both the 2011-12 and 2013-14 sessions, and died in committee both times.

Flag of the governor


The flag of the governor of Pennsylvania contains the Coat of Arms of Pennsylvania on a field of white. Above the coat of arms, the flag displays a red ribbon with "The Governor" written in gold sans serif lettering. Below the coat of arms, the flag displays another red ribbon with "Commonwealth of Pennsylvania" in gold lettering.