New Bill Would Allow States To Choose Daylight Saving Time Year Round
Mar 11, 2019, 6:31 PM | Updated: Mar 7, 2020, 3:36 pm
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — For the next eight months, we’re on daylight saving time. That means a later sunrise and a later sunset.
Basically, it’s an extra hour of daylight in the evening.
A new proposal by a Utah congressman would let states stop changing clocks and choose to stay on daylight saving time all year round.
On Sunday morning, most of the country switched over to daylight saving time, but many people think the whole process of changing our clocks twice a year has got to go.
“Ultimately, I just would like the clocks to quit changing,” said Rep. Marsha Judkins, R-Provo.
Judkins said in the weeks following a time change, there are damaging health effects.
“There’s more epileptic seizures, more visits to the emergency room, more heart attacks, there’s more car accidents,” she said. “It just really upsets our body clocks.”
Currently, the federal government allows states to choose between two options — switch back and forth between standard time and daylight saving time or stay on standard time year round.
The only states that stay on standard time year round are Arizona and Hawaii.
Judkins supports a federal bill called the “Daylight Act”.
The bill would give states three choices:
- Stay on daylight saving time year round
- Stay on standard time year round
- Switch back and forth
The bill is sponsored by Utah Congressman Rob Bishop. His ultimate goal is to let states decide for themselves.
“This is a no-brainer. The range of industry and lifestyle is so varied across our country it only makes sense for states to have the ability to set their watches the way they best see fit,” said Bishop.
Judkins thinks it’s important to stand behind Bishop’s proposal. She introduced a bill Monday on Capitol Hill that would tell the federal government that Utah supports the Daylight Act.
The fate of the bill depends on Congress.