To amend section 5.01 and to enact sections 5.012 and 5.013 of the Revised Code to establish requirements governing the display and disposal of the state flag, to explain the symbolism of the state flag, and to adopt an official pledge to the state flag.

SECTION 1.  That section 5.01 be amended and sections 5.012 and 5.013 of the Revised Code be enacted to read as follows:

Sec. 5.01.  The flag of the state shall be pennant shaped burgee-shaped. It shall have three red and two white horizontal stripes that represent the roads and waterways of the state. The union of the flag shall be seventeen five-pointed stars, white in a blue triangular field that represents the state's hills and valleys, the base of which shall be the staff end or vertical edge of the flag, and the apex of which shall be the center of the middle red stripe. The stars shall be grouped around a red disc superimposed upon a white circular "O." The thirteen stars grouped around the "O" represent the original states of the United States and the four stars added to the peak of the triangle symbolize that Ohio was the seventeenth state admitted to the union. The "O" represents the "O" in "Ohio" and suggests the state's nickname, the buckeye state. The proportional dimensions of the flag and of its various parts shall be according to the official design on file in the office of the secretary of state. One state flag of uniform dimensions shall be furnished to each company of the organized militia.

Sec. 5.012.  (A) Display of the state flag at all state buildings and public institutions, such as public school buildings and state parks, is encouraged. If the state flag is displayed, it may be flown every day when weather permits and shall be flown from sunrise until sunset on all national and state holidays and on any other days that the governor proclaims. The state flag may be flown at night when properly lighted. When the state flag is displayed outdoors, it shall be flown either from a flagpole or a staff. Any staff from which the state flag is flown shall be at least two and one-half times as long as the state flag.

(B) When the state flag and the United States flag are displayed at the same time, the state flag shall not be larger than the United States flag. When the state flag and the United States flag are displayed together against a wall from crossed staffs, the state flag shall be on the left of the United States flag, and the staff supporting the state flag shall be behind the staff supporting the United States flag. When the state flag is flown from the same halyard as the United States flag, the state flag shall be displayed beneath the United States flag. When the state flag is carried in a procession in which the United States flag is unfurled, the state flag shall be displayed on the marching left of the United States flag.

(C) The state flag shall be washed or dry cleaned when soiled and may be repaired. When the state flag is damaged beyond repair, it shall be destroyed privately either by cutting it into small pieces and burning it until only ashes remain or by sealing it in a plastic bag or box before discarding it in a trash collection.

Sec. 5.013.  "I salute the flag of the state of Ohio and pledge to the buckeye state respect and loyalty" is hereby adopted as the official pledge to the state flag. The pledge shall not replace, preempt, or be recited before the pledge of allegiance to the United States flag.

SECTION 2.  That existing section 5.01 of the Revised Code is hereby repealed.