Time's Up for Kevin West Measure
OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, on Tuesday lost his fight to lock the state into standard time and stop the twice-yearly time change to daylight saving time. House Bill 1223 would have established year-round standard of time in Oklahoma after daylight saving time ends Nov. 2. The bill failed to pass the House and advance to the Senate. “Congratulations to all the members who voted no on this bill," West said. "You just ensured that we will continue to change the clocks twice each year, even though the majority of Oklahomans want us to lock the clock." West has authored several bills that would send to a vote of the people a question on whether to adopt permanent standard time in Oklahoma, stopping the twice-yearly time change. The measures have not advanced through the full legislative process. Instead, last session, the Legislature passed and the governor signed into law Senate Bill 1200 . The measure specifies that should a federal law ever authorize states to observe daylight saving time year-round, Oklahoma shall adopt it year-round. West said this was tried before. In 1974, the entire nation was mandated to go to daylight saving time. That winter, several states, including Oklahoma, petitioned the federal government to end it because the sun wasn't up until after 8 a.m. There were complaints of children going to school in the dark and employees starting the work day before the sun rose. The act ultimately was repealed in 1975. Federal law allows states to be on standard time year-round. Arizona, Hawaii and most U.S. territories currently do this. The law requires states that wish to adopt daylight saving time year-round to ask permission from the government to do so, but so far the federal government has not granted any of these requests. West also pointed out that the Sunshine Protection Act in Congress would require states to be on daylight saving time year-round. The act would allow states to not participate only if they take legislative action to do so. The act has not passed. States that choose not to opt out of daylight saving time are required to set their clocks forward an hour at 2 a.m. the second Sunday of March each year and back an hour at 2 a.m. the first Sunday of November. West said he's heard from numerous constituents, parents and business owners over the course of his legislative service that there is a strong desire to stop the changing of the clocks. He's also studied the issue in detail. In a previous legislative study, he invited experts to discuss the science of time change and the detriments of changing the clock twice yearly. The U.S. Congress first implemented daylight saving time through the Standard Time Act in 1918 during World War I as a way to "add" more daylight hours to conserve energy. The act also established five time zones across the U.S. The Uniform Time Act in 1966 mandated the country use daylight saving time but allowed states to opt out and to stay on standard time year-round. The thought behind daylight saving time is that by setting the clocks back an hour in November, more daylight time is gained in the early mornings. When an hour is added in March, more daylight is gained in the evenings. West said there are additional concerns such as health-related risks, increased auto accidents and work-related injuries that could rise when we first switch to permanent daylight saving time. West said he's received an enormous amount of positive feedback from Oklahomans who support not having to change the clock twice yearly, specifically noting the time it takes to adjust to the change. "I'm disappointed this legislation failed," West said. "I feel the majority of Oklahomans do not want their clocks to keep changing twice each year. They will have to let their voices be heard on this matter."