The Florida Senate

The supervisor of elections of each county in this state shall provide a flag of the United States for each polling place in the county. The flag shall be displayed properly and prominently at all designated polling places on all days when an election is being held.

The supervisor of elections of each county in the state shall make the flags available to each municipality or governmental body holding an election within such county for each election held for any such municipality or governmental body within such county. The municipality or governmental body shall have the responsibility of properly and prominently displaying the flag at each such polling place on all days when an election is being held and shall bear the expense of displaying the flag of the United States.

Each supervisor of elections is authorized to purchase a sufficient number of flags to carry out the purpose of this act out of the general revenue fund of each such county.

In lieu of a flag of the United States, a picture or representation of the flag may be displayed at the polling place, provided such picture or representation measures, at a minimum, 1 square foot in size.

Each flag so presented shall carry a note indicating the following: “This flag is being presented to you by courtesy of the people of Florida” and no other name.

Place or cause to be placed any word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement of any nature upon any flag, standard, color, ensign or shield of the United States or of this state, or authorized by any law of the United States or this state; or

Expose to public view any such flag, standard, color, ensign or shield upon which shall have been printed, painted or otherwise produced, or to which shall have been attached, appended, affixed or annexed any such word, figure, mark, picture, design, drawing or advertisement.

It shall be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to copy, print, publish, or otherwise use the flag or state emblem of Florida, or the flag or emblem of the Confederate States, or any flag or emblem used by the Confederate States or the military or naval forces of the Confederate States at any time within the years 1860 to 1865, both inclusive, for the purpose of advertising, selling, or promoting the sale of any article of merchandise whatever within this state.

It shall also be unlawful for any person, firm, or corporation to mutilate, deface, defile, or contemptuously abuse the flag or emblem of Florida or the flag or emblem of the Confederate States by any act whatever.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the use of any flag, standard, color, shield, ensign, or other insignia of Florida or of the Confederate States for decorative or patriotic purposes.

Each publicly supported and controlled auditorium within a separate building shall display daily the flag of the United States upon a suitable flagstaff upon the grounds of the auditorium except when the weather does not permit such display, and each publicly supported and controlled auditorium within a part of a building shall display daily the flag of the United States inside of the auditorium whenever the auditorium is open.

It is the duty of the person responsible for the administration of such auditorium to provide a suitable flag and cause it to be displayed in the manner provided in subsection (1). If any person willfully causes the flag to fail to be so displayed, except for the cleaning, repair, or replacement of such flag, such person is guilty of a noncriminal violation, punishable as provided in s. 775.083.

The flag may be displayed at memorial or funeral services of firefighters who have died in the line of duty, at firefighter memorials, at fire stations, at the Fallen Firefighter Memorial located at the Florida State Fire College in Ocala, by the families of fallen firefighters, and at any other location designated by the State Fire Marshal.

The flag shall have a blue background, with a black horizontal stripe across the middle of the flag and a horizontal purple stripe above and below the black stripe. It shall also contain a red Maltese Cross or Cross of St. Florian in the center of the flag surrounding the Great Seal of the State of Florida, and the phrase “Florida Fallen Firefighters” in gold capital letters shall be placed at the top of the flag and the phrase “Memorial Flag” shall be placed at the bottom of the flag. Each arm of the cross shall contain one of the words “Courage,” “Honor,” “Sacrifice,” and “Valor.”

The Department of Financial Services may adopt rules relating to the production and distribution of the flag.