Yet, the full 10-person panel has not gathered in a meeting since, nor has the commission held a series of legally mandated hearings to gather public input ahead of a Dec. 15 deadline to produce its recommendations.

It appears unlikely the panel actually will do so. A commission spokesperson told the Globe that the panel intends to seek a second extension, and is “aiming” to have its next full commission meeting at some point in December.

“The Seal, Flag and Motto Advisory Commission has been hard at work engaging experts and the public about what they want to see in our state’s symbols,” Alana Davidson, the commission spokesperson, said in a statement. “We believe that more time is needed to ensure robust community engagement.”

Davidson did not respond to a question about how much more time the commission would seek from the Legislature, which wrapped up formal sessions for the year earlier this month.

The panel, similar to the one before it, has been trying to navigate a fraught debate about representation and potential erasure in the iconography the state assigns itself.

The effort to replace the flag dates back decades, but it gained traction in 2020, when the murder of George Floyd sparked a nationwide reexamination of race and historical emblems, including the Massachusetts seal.

Members of the state’s Indigenous community are themselves split on how to replace the state’s current 19th-century emblem, which sits on the state flag and depicts a colonist’s arm holding a sword above the image of a Native American. The image is draped by a Latin motto that roughly translates to: “By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty.”

The design draws on the original seal of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, which featured a Native American man, naked but for some shrubbery around his groin, saying, “Come over and help us.” And the sword depicted once belonged to Myles Standish, a 17th-century military commander for the Plymouth Colony known for his brutality toward the Indigenous population.

When the panel released a set of new designs in August it had culled from public submissions, commission members cautioned that the proposals — which rated the highest during a round of internal scoring — were not the finalists from which a final recommendation would emerge.

In the months since, a group of commissioners have met in subcommittee meetings, during which members lamented moving too quickly to ask for ideas without better educating the public — and commission appointees themselves — about the problematic history of the state’s official emblem.

The commission’s work is also unfolding during a different time than in 2020. Over the last five years, the racial reckoning that helped spur the first commission has largely receded from the public view.

The debate over changing the flag has also since migrated onto the campaign trail, where some of Governor Maura Healey’s Republican opponents — both past appointees of former governor Charlie Baker, who signed the initial measure in January 2021— have cast the state’s effort as an attempt to erase the state’s own history.

“There’s a public misunderstanding about why the current flag is not appropriate,” Kate Fox, the executive director of the state’s Office of Travel and Tourism and the commission’s co-chair, said during a Sept. 9 meeting.

Critics have long said that the placement of a broadsword above the Native American figure is racist imagery and symbolizes the violence inflicted on Native American populations. Still others, both on and off the commission, have warned against eliminating Massachusetts’ Indigenous communities from the seal entirely.

The first iteration of the commission voted unanimously in 2022 for replacing the state’s motto and seal, but it disbanded the next year without offering specific substitutes for either.

Summer Confuorto, a current commission member, said in a late September subcommittee meeting that she’s heard pushback casting the panel’s effort to rethink the flag as a “liberal state that wants to make this change” and that Native Americans themselves aren’t driving it. In fact, she said, Indigenous leaders have been talking for decades about why the imagery needs to change.

“It’s not to waste people’s time and . . . there’s a purpose and intent” behind the commission’s work, said Confuorto, who has Gros Ventre, Cree, Mi’kmaq heritage, according to her employer, the Mass Cultural Council.

In a late October meeting, Rhonda Anderson, an Iñupiaq – Athabascan commission member who also is the Western Massachusetts Commissioner on Indian Affairs, said the advisory panel needs to both educate and reframe its work, including to other Native Americans, that “we’re actually providing something better” with a new emblem.

“When people believe that we’re taking something away, they just really clutch tighter,” Anderson said. “I don’t want to take anything away from anyone, but I do want to do better.”

Efforts to reach Confuorto, Anderson, and other members of the advisory commission for this story were not successful.

John “Jim” Peters, the executive director of the Commission on Indian Affairs and a state seal advisory commission member, said in a phone interview that the panel is tackling a “difficult question” and he himself is at odds with others on a path forward.

He said he’s made his preference clear: The “most effective” option, he said, is to simply remove the disembodied arm and sword from the state, and change the state motto.

Actually changing the seal and flag, however, is “something that the citizens of the state need to be on the same page [for],” he said.

Whenever the panel does submit its recommendations, the governor is required to submit legislation “to codify the new state motto and designs for the seal and flag,” though the law does not dictate when it must be submitted. The Legislature ultimately would then have to approve any changes.

Peters is not among the commission members who’ve sat in on subcommittee meetings in recent months, the last of which fell shortly before Halloween. But told the Globe he was aware that the advisory panel planned to seek an extension.

“Another holdup,” he said.

Matt Stout can be reached at matt.stout@globe.com. Follow him @mattpstout.

Massachusetts lawmakers will be taking up a bill this session that seeks to establish a permanent commission on the status of transgender people.

The legislation (S. 2725) An Act Establishing a Commission on the Status of Transgender People, would task the commission with conducting an ongoing study of all matters concerning transgender people.

The commission would also report its findings to the public, serve as a liaison between government and private interest groups concerned with issues affecting transgender people; assess programs and practices in all state agencies that may affect transgender people, and identify and recommend qualified transgender people for appointive positions at all levels of government, including boards and commissions.

An original draft was filed in February by state Senators Joanne Comerford (D-Northampton), Patricia Jehlen (D-2nd Middlesex), Jamie Eldrige (D-Marlboro) and state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa (D-Northampton). The group has since completed a second draft, which was reported favorably by the committee on Rules of the two branches and referred to the Committee on the Rules of the Two Branches, on Monday.

In a February 25th Facebook post announcing the filing of the original draft, Sen. Jehlen pointed to what she calls an “attack” by the Trump Administration on the “rights of minority communities across the country” as a motivator for her support.

“We have seen the federal administration attack the rights of minority communities across the country. One of the many affected groups whose rights are being stripped and jeopardized is the LGBTQIA+ community. Thanks to the hard work of incredible advocates over the last several years we have been able to codify and strengthen protections for many but not all,” Sen. Jehlen wrote.

“Part of ensuring everyone in our community is protected is making sure we know what changes could improve the lives of our neighbors who are vulnerable. Establishing a permanent commission on the status of transgender people that will focus on improving their lives can bring us one step closer towards equitable protections for all,” she said.

The commission would be made up of 21 unpaid members who each would serve three-year terms. Six members would be appointed by transgender-led organizations of groups that directly serve, support or advocate for transgender people in Massachusetts. Two members would be appointed by transgender-focused health programs at Massachusetts-based health centers, with another two members each appointed by an organization that supports LGBTQ+ students and by a group that supports homeless LGBTQ+ individuals with housing. The remaining nine members would be appointed by groups that LGBTQ+ people facing domestic violence, are incarcerated, and who are sex workers; as well as LGBTQ+ veterans and with disabilities.

The legislation calls for the commission to be made up of at least 11 transgender persons in total, two of which are between the ages of 18 and 24, with two more members aged 60 or older and another two being representatives of mental health professionals.

The development in this legislation comes a week after news broke of Gov. Maura Healey’s appointment of trans woman Giselle Byrd to the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women in August. Healey has defended her appointment of Byrd, who says she’s been receiving death threats since she joined the commission.

Gov. Healey received widespread criticism for the decision, with many opposed to the move stating how they feel it would have been more appropriate and deserving for a biological female to have been appointed.

The Herald has reached out to state Rep. Sabadosa and state Senators Comeford, Eldridge and Jehlen for comment.

A chilly Thanksgiving is now behind us, and we’re looking at an even colder day on Friday for those of you starting your holiday shopping this Black Friday or just taking the day to relax and recover from a day of eating.

High pressure builds in from Canada today, bringing gusty winds. The air is a little bit unstable, especially over Central and Western Massachusetts, where some clouds could blow up this afternoon and actually produce a quick snow shower or a snow flurry. A winter weather advisory is in effect for the northern Berkshires.

Temperatures today will only be within a few degrees of 40 but the wind will make it feel in the upper 20s to 30s most of the day. It will be bright except for those clouds popping up and blotting out the sun from time to time. The most sunshine will occur from Boston south toward Cape Cod and the islands.

Clear skies resume Friday night with temperatures in the 20s and lower 30s, with the wind still making it feel like it’s in the teens late at night.

Saturday is my pick of the weekend with sunshine and a cold start. Temperatures will again be within a few degrees of 40 in the afternoon. This is below average for this time of year.

A new storm system is poised to move well west of New England through the Great Lakes and then into Quebec Sunday night and Monday. On this track, a southerly flow of air will boost temperatures to between 45 and 50 degrees Sunday afternoon as precipitation arrives. This obviously means that we’re looking at rainfall. The rain will continue for the first half of Sunday night before tapering off, with temperatures remaining above freezing all night.

Monday brings the chance of a morning shower and high temperatures in the 40s, with breaks of sunshine. This active pattern continues into Tuesday when a new storm system approaches. The track of this storm will determine what type of precipitation we have, but some areas of New England could likely see their first measurable snowfall of the season.

Of course, you may be wondering if this will make it into the Boston area or not? Climatologically, it’s less likely that the coastal plain sees anything other than a cold rain or a wet mix, but Boston may end up with some accumulating snow if the track is a little farther offshore. This offshore track would keep the cold air in place.

If Tuesday’s storm were to move a little farther west, then the warm air would flood in from the Atlantic, which is still relatively mild this time of year, and we would only see rain from I-495 eastward. It’s too early to determine where the rain-snow line will fall or what the total snowfall would be, but just know that your plans could be disrupted on Tuesday. Of course, there will be more on this later in the weekend.

Greater Boston: Mostly sunny skies for your Friday with temperatures within a few degrees of 40 and a gusty wind at times. Chilly on Saturday with temperatures again right around 40.

Central/Western Mass.: Look for some pop-up clouds mixing with the sunshine, with temperatures in the 30s to near 40 and a quick flurry from some of those clouds. It’s sunny on Saturday with highs 35 to 40.

Southeastern Mass.: Mostly sunny skies both Friday and Saturday with a bit of a breeze, especially Friday. Temperatures will be in the lower 40s in the afternoon, starting just under 30.

Cape and Islands: About 43 degrees should be a common high temperature across much of this area both Friday and Saturday, with plenty of sunshine and a gusty wind, especially Friday. This will make it feel in the 30s.

Rhode Island: Look for partly to mostly sunny skies on Friday with highs in the lower 40s along with the wind. You can expect more sunshine on Saturday with highs in the lower 40s.

New Hampshire: Look for partly sunny skies with a couple of snow showers and a gusty wind on Friday, highs in the upper 30s. Look for sunshine with highs in the upper 30s on Saturday.

Sign up here for our daily Globe Weather Forecast that will arrive straight into your inbox bright and early each weekday morning.