Idaho Senate Approves Pride Flag Ban With $2,000/Day Fine

By a vote of 26-8, the Idaho Senate approved a bill this week that would fine local and state governments $2,000 per day for flying Pride flags.

Idaho bill that allows fines for flying Pride flags passes Senate ➡️ https://t.co/uGg9gffac0

📷 Envato pic.twitter.com/GJGofojSRf

— PinkNews (@PinkNews) March 27, 2026

From the Idaho Capital Sun:

The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Ted Hill, an Eagle Republican, has said House Bill 561 is meant to target the city of Boise for flying an LGBTQ+ pride flag.

Boise’s City Council voted to declare the pride flag and the organ donor flag as official flags, in an apparent move to work around the Legislature’s flag ban law passed last year.

The bill would add a $2,000 daily fine, per offending flag, to the flag ban law from last year, which lacked an enforcement process.

The bill widely passed the House earlier this month. But since the Senate amended the bill, it must return to the House before it would go to Gov. Brad Little for final consideration.

Earlier this week, the Idaho Senate approved a Republican-sponsored bill that would make it a crime for trans individuals to use restrooms that correspond with their gender identity.

Rep. Hill successfully promoted his bill banning teachers from referring to students with their preferred pronouns to passage in 2024.