Governor Ronnie Musgrove

Series 2540: Advisory Commission on the Mississippi State Flag and the Mississippi Coat of Arms

The series includes approximately 120 Microsoft Office files generated by Governor Ronnie Musgrove's staff working with the Advisory Commission on the Mississippi State Flag and the Mississippi Coat of Arms. The documents are correspondence, the executive order establishing the Commission, responses to a lawsuit filed against Commission members, a design presentation, and meeting agendas and minutes.

David Ronald (Ronnie) Musgrove became the sixty-second governor of Mississippi in 2000 and served until 2004. The Commission was established by an executive order signed by Governor Ronnie Musgrove May 5, 2000. Its seventeen members were tasked with recommending designs for a state flag and coat of arms to the governor, the lieutenant governor, and the Speaker no later than May 4, 2001. On December 12, 2000, the Commission advised the legislature to make the 1894 coat of arms the official state coat of arms and to call a referendum for voters to choose between the 1894 flag design and a new one. The legislature approved the 1894 design for the state coat of arms February 7, 2001. On April 17, 2001, 64.39% of Mississippi voters favored the 1894 flag design.