JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A state agency said Monday that the public can submit proposals for a new Mississippi flag, using two requirements in state law: The designs cannot include the Confederate battle emblem, and they must have the phrase, "In God We Trust."

Mississippi does not have a banner, and will not for a few months, because it recently retired the last state flag in the U.S. with the Confederate battle symbol that many see as racist.

The state Department of Archives and History said Monday that it will collect flag proposals from the public until Aug. 13. Those will go to a nine-member...