Daylight savings on the ballot
Assembly Bill 807 aims to make California third state to get rid of practice
Californians will get to decide if they want daylight saving time year-round, thanks to a new November 2018 ballot initiative.
Assembly Bill 807 would make California the third state, joining Arizona and Hawaii, to outlaw the practice of moving clocks forward in the spring and back in the fall. By approving the bill, the Legislature decided to place the measure on the November ballot.
Assemblyman Tom Lackey, R-Palmdale, voted yes and said the change would greatly benefit the Santa Clarita Valley, which relies heavily on commuters.
“Living in a commuter community, I think there’s a number of benefits with more daylight,” he said. “It’s safer to drive, and since we have commuting families, it’d also allow them more time to be together.”
Sen. Scott Wilk, R-Santa Clarita, voted “yes” on the floor as well, but said he believed it was up to voters to decide what they wanted.
Sen. Henry Stern, D-Canoga Park, and Assemblyman Dante Acosta, R-Santa Clarita, also supported the initiative.
Assemblyman Kansen Chu, D-San Jose, introduced the bill by calling daylight saving time an “outdated practice no longer useful to conserve energy during wartime,” which was its original purpose.
“We are no longer saving energy, and studies have shown this practice increases risk of heart attacks, traffic accidents and crimes,” Chu said. “It is time that we as a state reconsider whether this is still beneficial to our residents.”