Which would you opt for?
While a lot of people like the "fall back" clock switch, practically nobody appreciates "spring forward". There's a push in the state legislature, and across the country, to pick one and stick with it. So... Standard Time, or Daylight Saving Time? You have both camps in the Oklahoma Legislature. Earlier this week I ran a column from one House member who wants to switch to permanent Standard Time. The State Senate, however, once again has voted to adopt permanent Daylight Saving Time. Confused? Yeah. We all are.
OKLAHOMA CITY (March 12th) – Senate Bill 1200 received approval from the full Senate Monday and provides that Oklahoma remain on Daylight Saving Time year-round should Congress pass legislation allowing states to choose whether or not to take part in the bi-annual time change. The bill’s author, Sen. Blake “Cowboy” Stephens, R-Tahlequah, has long advocated for locking the clock, citing the health and safety benefits of having an extra hour of light in the evenings.
Rep. Kevin West Legislation Would Address Time Change
OKLAHOMA CITY – Feeling sleep-deprived after Sunday's bi-annual time change pushed clocks forward an hour?
Don't blame Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore.
West authored House Bill 2217, which would send to a vote of the people a question on whether to adopt permanent standard time in Oklahoma. The measure was filed last year and assigned to the House Rules Committee but has not been heard. It is similar to legislation he's filed in the past.
This was a very interesting press release. I learned, for example, that states cannot exempt themselves from Standard Time due to federal regulations. Read on for more:
OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, today commented on the time change Oklahomans will experience this weekend when they "fall back" from daylight saving to standard time at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 5.
"The only way to lock the clock in Oklahoma and to stop this twice yearly time change is to switch to permanent standard time," West said. "I've long advocated for this and after my recent interim study on the issue, I realize it is as important as ever to continue my efforts."
WASHINGTON, DC (March 2nd) - Ahead of Daylight Saving Time, Senators James Lankford (R-OK) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023 for the 118th Congress. The legislation would end the antiquated practice of changing clocks twice a year.
OKLAHOMA CITY (Feb. 28th) – The full Senate approved Senate Bill 7 Tuesday. The measure, by Sen. Blake Cowboy Stephens, R-Tahlequah, would stop Oklahoma from changing the clock twice a year and lock in Daylight Saving Time (DST) year round.
OKLAHOMA CITY –Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, filed legislation on Wednesday to end the unnecessary and potentially harmful practice of setting clocks forward and back every year.
“As we pass through the shortest day of the year, let’s not forget the feds steal an hour from us each year with their daylight saving Ponzi scheme only to give it back later,” Dahm said. “It’s time we end this archaic practice in our state.”
OKLAHOMA CITY (November 28th) – Sen. Blake “Cowboy” Stephens has officially filed Senate Bill 7 ahead of the 2023 session, which calls for Oklahoma to remain in Daylight Saving Time (DST) year-round. The measure will be a “trigger law” that would go into effect following the passage of the Sunshine Protection Act by Congress, which would give states the option to end the time change.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Sen. Blake Stephens, R-Tahlequah, continues to advocate for Daylight Saving Time (DST) to be the official year-round time in Oklahoma. Stephens has advocated for DST legislation since he was elected to the Senate in 2020.
The Sunshine Protection Act was unanimously passed by the U.S. Senate earlier this year and is awaiting consideration by the U.S. House of Representatives, followed by the president. If approved, DST would be able to become permanent across the nation, with many states already having legislation in place to be enacted upon the passage of the act.
Daylight Savings Change Clears House
OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, today convinced enough of his House colleagues to send to a vote of the people a proposal that could permanently end Daylight Savings Time in Oklahoma.
House Bill 3146 would ask Oklahomans to vote on a statutory amendment that if approved would lock the clock on Central Standard Time in Oklahoma and do away with the twice-yearly clock changes. The change would take effect Nov. 8 – the next time clocks are scheduled to fall back an hour.
"Regardless of how we manipulate the clock, we still have the same number of daylight hours available to us each day," West said. "This gives the people of Oklahoma the right to decide the time on the clock during which they are observed."
Daylight Savings Time, which states can currently opt in or out of, requires setting clocks forward an hour each spring and backward an hour each fall in an attempt to increase daylight during evening hours.
Other states, including nearby Arizona, have passed or are passing similar legislation.
As my wife said when I told her about this, "You mean I just lost an hour that I might never get back?"
Senate Unanimously Passes Lankford’s Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator James Lankford (R-OK) offered the following statement after the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which Lankford introduced last year with Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Rick Scott (R-FL), Bill Hagerty (R-TN), and Ed Markey (D-MA).
“This is one issue that I have been chipping away at for a few years, and an issue I have consistently heard from Oklahomans—they are ready to lock the clock. Today Oklahomans, parents, dog owners, and lovers of daylight are one step closer to not having to deal with springing forward or falling back,” said Lankford. “Congress created Daylight Saving decades ago as a wartime effort, now it is well past time to lock the clock and end this experiment. I call on the House of Representatives to pass this bill immediately.”
OKLAHOMA CITY – As Oklahomans are still adjusting to the annual November time change, Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, has filed legislation to keep Daylight Saving Time in place year-round.
Senate Bill 1103 would create Central Daylight Time (CDT) in Oklahoma, ending the practice of turning clocks back an hour in November and then setting them forward an hour in March. Some 18 other states have already passed measures to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, pending approval of federal legislation allowing the change.
“A host of experts and research shows these arbitrary time changes throw off people’s body clocks, disrupting sleep and increasing the risk of health problems including heart attacks, depression and fatigue,” Dahm said. “It increases the risk of car accidents, and some studies even point to higher crime rates when its dark earlier. It’s time to end this four month disruption and keep that extra hour of daylight all year long.”
