BOISE, Idaho — On April 15, Idaho’s Attorney General Raúl Labrador posted images of his letter to Boise Mayor Lauren McLean concerning her violation of Idaho’s new flag display law.
“The law prohibits the display of unauthorized flags by government entities on public property,” Labrador posted on X. “I remind the Mayor that no public official has the authority to disregard laws they disagree with and ask her to comply.”
“I have discussed this matter with legislative leadership who have indicated to me that they will respond next session with strong enforcement tools against those who openly violate this law,” stated Labrador in his letter. He continued by warning McLean that lawmakers will likely deny state tax revenues to the City of Boise if it does not follow state law.
McLean’s blatant disregard for Idaho’s new law has been widely reported by most of Idaho’s establishment media outlets, bloggers, and independent news sources. On April 11, BoiseBev reported that the City of Boise “was continuing to fly the ‘Progress Pride’ flag outside of Boise City Hall.”
The law was sponsored by Rep. Heather Scott (R–Blanchard) and it passed the House with a vote of 54-13-3 and the Senate by a 20-11-4 vote. Governor Little indicted his support of the legislation when he signed House Bill 96 on April 3—which marked the law’s effective date.
In an effort to increase unity and reduce divisive ideology, the new law limits the types of flags that are allowed to be displayed by government entities in the state of Idaho. It was one of the shortest and simplest pieces of legislation passed during the 2025 Legislative Session with only 31 lines.
During debate in favor of the bill, Rep. Dale Hawkins (R–Fernwood) said, “I think this bill brings a clarity to things of what we need to get back to… the primary goal is getting to the things we can agree on.”
As of April 3, the flags that are allowed to be displayed are:
- the U.S. flag,
- the official flag of the governmental entity (i.e. the City of Boise flag),
- the official flag of any state in the U.S.,
- the official flag of any of America’s military branches or units,
- the POW/MIA flag,
- official flags of Indian tribes,
- official flags of countries other than the U.S. during special occasions, and
- official flags of Idaho colleges, universities, and public schools.
