Florida Governor Holds Ceremonial Signing of Student-Inspired Law Requiring USA-Made Public Flags

Florida Gov. Rick Scott held a ceremonial signing of the All American Flag Act at Viera High School in Melbourne on Sept. 21, 2015. Under the law, all U.S. and state flags bought by Florida state, county and city agencies beginning Jan. 1 must be made in the USA.

A student’s question

The idea started about three years earlier with Andres Matos, then a student at Eau Gallie High School. During a class discussion, he asked history teacher Matt Susin whether the U.S. flag was made in China and was told that some were. Students then petitioned local governments to require public bodies to buy USA-made flags.

After Susin moved to Viera High, members of the school’s Jefferson Club worked with local veterans groups and spoke around Brevard County in support of the bill. Students who had gone on to Florida State University lobbied for it in Tallahassee.

Second try in the Legislature

The bill was first sponsored by state Rep. Ritch Workman and failed once. State Rep. Bob Cortes, R-Altamonte Springs, then sponsored it, and the Legislature passed it. “We are spending public dollars on flags and they ought to made in the United States,” Cortes said.

Scott first signed the bill in Panama City in July. He came to Viera High for a second, ceremonial signing with the students, veterans, Junior ROTC cadets and local officials who backed it.

Other states took up similar rules. South Carolina introduced a bill later in 2015 that would require state-purchased flags to be USA-made (our coverage).