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The Juneteenth, pride and other unauthorized flags would be banned from flying over the Capitol under a Republican-authored bill proposed this week.

Any flag other than the U.S., state, official prisoner-of-war/missing-in-action flags and the official flags of each branch of the military would be banned under the legislation, which Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would need to sign in order for it to become law.

That appeared unlikely, given that the governor initiated raising either the traditional rainbow pride flag or progress pride flag above the Capitol every June since taking office and has also raised the Juneteenth flag every year since 2020. His office did not return a request for comment on the bill.

The bill’s author, Rep. David Steffen, R-Green Bay, said it’s not aimed at banning any specific flags, or at Democrats.

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“I really, under no circumstances, wanted this to be construed as a partisan issue,” he said. “To be clear, this would apply to not just Democrat mayors and county executives, but also Republicans. It would also apply not only to Democrat governors, but Republican governors.”

The move comes just days after President Donald Trump’s administration banned all flags except the American flag from being flown at U.S. government buildings and embassies around the world as part of its “one flag policy.”

Steffen insisted his proposal was not politically motivated, saying efforts to raise flags such as the Israeli, Palestinian, Ukrainian and “Thin Blue Line” flags around the state are what prompted the idea.

He also said he’d be open to amending the bill so that it wouldn’t take effect until 2027, after the next gubernatorial election.

Other flags could be flown after a three-fourths vote by the Legislature or the governing body in charge of the city, village, town or county property, according to the bill draft.

But the bill would also bar local governments from flying their own flags over their buildings, meaning the Madison City Council, for example, would need to approve a resolution to fly the Madison flag by a three-fourths vote.

Steffen said some have asked about amending the bill to allow local governments to fly their own flags, but he argued they shouldn’t have a hard time passing those resolutions.

“Let me give an example,” he said. “For Green Bay, that is part of my district, I would expect on day one the very first flag that they’re going to authorize is a Green Bay Packers flag, and I would support that.”

Dylan Brogan, a spokesperson for Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, said he didn’t think the City Council would have much trouble approving flags that grace the city’s flagpoles, which have included the transgender, progress pride, Ho-Chunk Nation and Juneteenth flags.

But Brogan said state lawmakers should focus more on redesigning the state flag, which he characterized as “undeniably lackluster.”

“It’s just a blue sheet with a seal on it,” Brogan said.

“I really, under no circumstances, wanted this to be construed as a partisan issue.”

State Rep. David Steffen, R-Green Bay, author of the bill