BILOXI, Miss. _ A historic and emotional weekend continued Sunday in the Mississippi Legislature, when the House voted 91-23 to take down the state flag with its Confederate battle emblem and ask Mississippi voters to choose a new flag design.
Speaker Pro Tem Jason White, a Republican from Holmes County, said doubtless tears had been shed leading up to votes this weekend. He urged his colleagues to support the bill "for a greater good that we can all get behind."
The bill now moves to the state Senate.
Here are the bill's key features:
_ The state flag with Confederate battle emblem will be "respectfully" retired within 15 days of bill approval.
_ The Confederate emblem is banished from new state flag design.
_ The new design must include the words, "In God We Trust."
_ Gov. Tate Reeves, Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann and House Speaker Philip Gunn will each appoint three members to nine-member flag commission.
_ The commission will, with public input, recommend one new flag design by Sept. 14.
_ A special election will be held Nov. 3, when voters can vote "yes" or "no" on the new design with no write-ins allowed.
_ The Legislature will adopt the new flag after it convenes in January 2021.
_ If voters reject the new design, the commission will get back to work and another election will be held.
Reeves, who had favored a statewide vote on whether the old flag should be replaced, has said he will sign the bill for a new flag design if it reaches his desk.
The Mississippi Senate joined the House in historic votes Saturday that led to Sunday's vote.
The Saturday votes were crucial and signaled Sunday's action. A two-thirds majority vote was needed Saturday from each chamber to suspend the rules because the time had passed to consider a flag bill or any other general legislation.
Only a majority is needed in the House and Senate to remove the flag.
The state Senate voted 36-14, followed by loud cheers, for the rules suspension, only one more vote than needed for the two-thirds majority. Legislators said the close margin willing to suspend Senate rules delayed voting on rules suspension.
In the House, rules suspension passed with a vote of 85-34, with 82 votes needed.
