00 Enrolled HB 21                                                                                                          
01 Relating to the proper retirement of an official state flag.                                                            
02                           _______________                                                                               
03    * Section 1. AS 44.09.020 is amended to read:                                                                      
04            Sec. 44.09.020. State flag. The design of the official flag is eight gold stars in                         
05       a field of blue, so selected for its simplicity, its originality, and its symbolism. The                          
06       blue, one of the national colors, typifies the evening sky, the blue of the sea and of                            
07       mountain lakes, and of wild flowers that grow in Alaskan soil, the gold being                                     
08       significant of the wealth that lies hidden in Alaska's hills and streams.                                         
09            The stars, seven of which form the constellation Ursa Major, the Great Bear,                                 
10       the most conspicuous constellation in the northern sky, contains the stars which form                             
11       the "Dipper," including the "Pointers" which point toward the eighth star in the flag,                            
12       Polaris, the North Star, the ever constant star for the mariner, the explorer, hunter,                            
13       trapper, prospector, woodsman, and the surveyor. For Alaska the northernmost star in                              
01       the galaxy of stars represents Alaska, [AND WHICH AT SOME FUTURE TIME                                         
02       WILL TAKE ITS PLACE AS] the forty-ninth star in the national emblem.                                              
03            The flag of the Territory of Alaska is the official flag of the state. The standard                          
04       proportions and size graphically delineated herein shall be used in the manufacture of                            
05       the official flag of Alaska. The stars shall be the color of natural yellow gold and the                          
06       field of blue shall be of the same shade of blue used in the official manufacture of the                          
07       national emblem of the United States. The design, standard proportions, and size are                              
08       as follows:                                                                                                       
09            (THE DESIGN, STANDARD PROPORTIONS, AND SIZE OF THE STATE                                                     
10       FLAG ARE SET OUT IN THE PRINTED STATUTES.)                                                                        
11    * Sec. 2. AS 44.09.030 is amended by adding a new subsection to read:                                              
12            (c)  An official flag of the state that is no longer a fitting emblem for display                            
13       because it is worn, tattered, or otherwise damaged may be respectfully retired by fire.