City Council Agenda
Memo to:
Manteca City Council
From:
Riana Daniel, Interim City Attorney
Prepared by:
Mona Ebrahimi and Alek Kocher, Legal Counsel
Date:
October 21, 2025
Subject:
Flag Policy Amendment Options
Recommendation:
title
Receive a presentation regarding the City's options with regulating flags on City property and provide direction to staff.
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Background:
On June 21, 2022, the City of Manteca approved a flag policy to conform with the First Amendment and interpreting case law. The policy aimed to protect the City's ability to regulate flags on city-owned flagpoles by treating the display of commemorative flags as government speech and formally declaring that said flagpoles are not intended to serve as a forum for free expression by the public. The policy was updated in Fall 2023. At the June 17, 2025 meeting, the Council discussed the flag policy further, including the potential for amending it and directed staff to come back with options. This staff report explains the legal framework and provides options for the City Council's consideration. The Council can elect to keep the flag policy unchanged or direct staff to make changes and bring back proposed amendments for consideration at a future meeting.
I. Regulating Flags
A. Introduction
Manteca has the authority to regulate the use of city-owned property, including city-owned flagpoles. How the City regulates flags on flagpoles will depend on the City's approach. There are two overall approaches. The first approach is government speech, which means all flags flown on City property are an expression of the City and its values. The second approach is public participation, which means the City would allow private individuals/groups to exercise speech through flags on City flagpoles.
B. Government Speech
The U.S. Supreme Court recognizes that governments, such as the City, can speak for themselves. "A government entity is entitled to say what it wishes, and to select t...
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