A small pride flag that Cheylynn Hayman sets near her nameplate during Centerville City Council meetings doesn’t violate the law, Utah’s state auditor found.

Hayman, a lawyer who’s served on the council since 2024, has displayed the flag for more than a year to protest the law that made Utah the first in the nation to ban the rainbow-striped flags from government spaces.

The auditor’s office, which is responsible for enforcing the law, investigated the display after residents complained.

“Based on Centerville City’s response, and other factors, the Office noted no violation of Statute,” the auditor’s office wrote in a letter late last month to the mayor and city manager

“Therefore, the Office has concluded our inquiry into this matter,” they added. “We appreciate your timely and cooperative response during this investigation.”

A spokesperson said the auditor and staff are “happy to let the letter speak for the office.”

Mayor Clark Wilkinson wrote in response that the display was “by an individual City Council member in the exercise of her First Amendment right to free speech.”

That matched the argument Hayman made that the law — which also bans other flags not sanctioned by the state — only applies to government entities and schools.

The city did not respond to a request for comment on the auditor’s decision.

Hayman told The Salt Lake Tribune she was pleased the state auditor “reached the conclusion that I thought was warranted and required by law.”

“The flag-ban law doesn’t prohibit me from individually displaying any flag I want. Including a pride flag,” Hayman wrote in a LinkedIn post. “And most importantly — every elected representative across the state now knows they can do the same.”

The council member hopes the decision prompts lawmakers to take another look at the law, which she’s described as “stupid, unnecessary and offensive.”

“I hope that what it makes is the legislature rethink whether the law is needed and whether it’s having the intended effect,” Hayman said.

Rep. Trevor Lee, a Layton Republican, sponsored the bill during the 2025 session. Lee lost his primary last month and will not be in the Legislature next year.

Hayman encouraged Utahns to take collective action and encourage their elected officials to join her in displaying pride flags.

If enough of them do, she wrote, lawmakers might see that the law has backfired.

“Maybe it will finally do the right thing and repeal it next legislative session,” she wrote.