The Overview
Arizona homeowners and condominium associations can no longer stop residents from flying the flag of Israel outside their homes. The law, which took effect Saturday, Sept. 12, never names Israel, but it protects flags of a major non-NATO U.S. ally established on May 14, 1948, a description that fits only that country.
Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed Senate Bill 1808 on June 22. Sen. David Gowan (R) sponsored the bill.
What The Law Does
The law amends the state’s rules for condominiums and planned communities, which already bar associations from prohibiting the outdoor display of several flags. That list includes the American flag, U.S. military flags, the POW/MIA flag, the Arizona flag, flags of Arizona’s tribal nations, the Gadsden flag, first responder flags, blue star and gold star service flags and historic American flags such as the Betsy Ross flag, according to a Senate fact sheet.
The new protection applies to residents in both kinds of communities. Associations must update any flag rules that conflict with it, according to a legislative update from the law firm Carpenter, Hazlewood, Delgado & Bolen.
The Debate
Gowan’s bill, as introduced, would have protected flags of any nation allied with the U.S. The Senate Government Committee narrowed it on Feb. 18 with an amendment from Sen. John Kavanagh (R), limiting it to a major non-NATO ally established on May 14, 1948, the date of Israel’s founding.
The full Senate passed the bill 20-8 on Feb. 26. The House passed it 33-22 on June 11 in a party-line vote, sending it to Hobbs without changes.
What’s Next
The law adds Israel’s flag to a list that until now covered American, Arizona, tribal, military and service flags, plus the Gadsden flag. Its narrow wording means flags of other U.S. allies, such as the United Kingdom or Japan, still have no protection under it, and associations keep whatever rules they have for those displays.
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