Florida Senate Likely to Remove Battle Flag from Seal

WUSF | By Associated Press,

Associated Press

Published October 8, 2015 at 12:17 PM EDT

The existing seal of the Florida state senate. A committee is reviewing whether the Confederate flag should be removed.

The Florida Senate will likely jettison the Confederate battle flag from the chamber's official seal.

The Senate Rules Committee on Thursday voted unanimously to revise the Senate seal that now contains the battle flag along with four others that have flown in Florida. The entire Senate will vote on the change during the annual session that starts in January.

The Confederate flag would be replaced with the Florida state flag.

State governments and businesses around the U.S. have removed Confederate symbols since Dylann Roof was accused in June of killing nine black church members in Charleston, South Carolina. Roof appeared in photos with the Confederate flag

Sen. Arthenia Joyner, a Tampa Democrat — asked leaders to consider removing the flag from the seal, which is seen throughout the state Capitol and on Senate documents.