Californians don’t yet have permanent daylight savings

Los Angeles News Group

Daylight saving time began at 2 a.m. Sunday, and even though 62% of Californians voted to end the clock change in 2018, we are still springing forward and falling back. Today, we look at studies that debate the clock changes and why things may stay as they are for a long time.

What in the daylights is going on with Californians wanting to get rid of changing the clock twice a year? Not much. Changing time might have been a waste of time for Californians.

In 2018, more than 4.5 million California voters approved a measure (by 62%) to make daylight saving time permanent. Proposition 7 was passed to allow the state Legislature to vote to adopt daylight saving time year-round with congressional approval.

The bill unanimously passed through the California Assembly last May but has sat in the Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications since. The bill would require a two-thirds vote from the California Senate.

Rep. Kansen Chu (D-San Jose), the bill’s sponsor, said it’s possible the vote may happen during this year’s second legislative session. If it passes, the bill would

head to Congress. President Donald Trump has tweeted support for making daylight saving permanent,

The switch to permanent daylight saving time would mean more darkmorning commutes, and children going to school in the dark. Perhaps there will be another proposition on the ballot for a permanent switch to standard time that has fewer dark mornings.

Sunlight for California

Our current form of daylight saving came about in 2005, when President

George W. Bush extended daylight saving time to last from March through the first Sunday of November. The change was made official in 2007.

Several studies are critical of the time change because it changes sleep patterns and may give kids less light in the mornings.

The Department of Transportation says daylight saving does the following:

• Saves energy because people use fewer household appliances and less lighting in the evenings when it’s lighter out and they can

spend time outdoors.

• Prevents traffic injuries and fatalities since people are more likely to be traveling when it’s light outside.

• Reduces crime because it gets darker later. People are less likely to still be outside once the sun goes down and crime rates increase.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures In 2019, nine states — Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon and Texas — have introduced legislation to adopt permanent standard time, and eight states — Iowa, Maine, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wyoming — have introduced bills to adopt permanent daylight saving time.

Three states — Minnesota, Mississippi and New Mexico — have proposed both. California and Florida have voted on ending switching the clock but have not forwarded the bills to Congress.

Sources: The Associated Press, Timeanddate. com, National Conference of State Legislatures, California Legislature