2001 NAVA Survey

In 2001, the North American Vexillological Association surveyed 100 of its members and 337 members of the general public on the designs of the 72 U.S. state, U.S. territorial and Canadian provincial flags. The survey ranked Pennsylvania's flag 57th out of the 72, with a score of 3.69 on a scale of 0 to 10.^[7] Its low ranking was attributed to both the complexity of the coat of arms on its design, and its inability to stand out among a sea of similar “seal on a bedsheet” designs common to more than half of U.S. state flags.^[8]

Attempts to add "Pennsylvania" to the flag (2004–2014)

Between 2004 and 2014, several attempts were made to add the word "Pennsylvania" to the state flag. According to former State Representative Tim Solobay (who introduced the first set of bills), this was intended to make Pennsylvania's flag more unique and identifiable.^[9]

While the bill failed to leave committee in the first two sessions it was introduced,^[10][11] a 2006 survey offered by Solobay's office^[12] to help refine the defined design may have swayed legislators to act on the bill, which was amended on May 7, 2007.^[13] On June 11, 2007, The Pennsylvania House of Representatives voted in favor of the bill, 164–31.^[9] The Senate State Government Committee never considered the bill, which died at the end of the Pennsylvania General Assembly's two-year session.

The bill was reintroduced by Solobay in 2009,^[14] and on the next session day, a second similar bill was introduced by former State Representative Gary Haluska with a competing definition of the design.^[15] Neither bill was raised in committee that session. Haluska's proposal was reintroduced alone in both the 2011–12^[16] and 2013–14 sessions,^[17] and died in committee both times.

• Proposals to change the flag between 2004 and 2014
• 
  2004–2007 proposal,^[10][11] adding "the word 'Pennsylvania' to be embroidered upon the flag in yellow silk."
• 
  2007–2010 proposal,^[13][14] adding the words "Commonwealth Of" to the top and "Pennsylvania" to the bottom of the flag in yellow silk, and arching the lettering around the coat of arms
• 
  2009–2014 proposal,^[15][16][17] adding the word "Pennsylvania" in yellow silk "centered within a symmetrical red festoon, similar to that containing the State motto; and the festoon to be centered above the bald eagle on the coat of arms."

2023 effort

On June 16, 2023, Pennsylvania State Representative Joe Webster released a memorandum proposing a commission to "study the history of the state flag, solicit design submissions for a new state flag, and recommend changes to the state flag."^[18] To this end, House Resolution 163 was introduced on June 27, 2023.^[19]