“Ditch the switch”: Washington among four states looking to abolish daylight saving time

Daylight Saving Time starts on Sunday, March 10, this year, but it may not be the case for much longer. A new bipartisan bill was introduced to the Senate to implement year-round Pacific standard time, and Washington Senator Mike Padden introduced the bill.

Not only is Washington pushing for daylight saving time to be abolished, California, Oregon, Washington and Idaho have formed a working group to propose legislation in their respective states to make the change.

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“If there is one issue most people agree on, it’s the dislike of moving their clocks from standard time to daylight saving time in the spring and then back to standard time in the fall,” said Senator Padden.

“There have been scientific studies connecting several health problems with switching back and forth between standard time and daylight saving time, including greater risks of heart attacks and more frequent workplace injuries.”

He added that, “this bill would allow Washington to finally ‘ditch the switch’ by keeping us on standard time permanently.”

If the bill becomes law, the change would go into effect on November 4th of this year, one day after daylight saving time ends on November 3rd.

“It is encouraging that these legislators in California, Idaho and Nevada plan to introduce bills this year to move their states to year-round standard time,” said Padden.

According to the bill, “research has shown that changing to and from daylight saving time twice per year has negative impacts on public health, increases traffic accidents and crime, disrupts agriculture scheduling, and hinders economic growth. Scientific studies have connected a number of health consequences with the act of switching between standard 16 time and daylight saving time, including greater risks of heart attacks, more frequent workplace injuries, and increased suicide rates in the days immediately after the switch.”

In the US, Arizona and Hawaii are the only states on permanent standard time as of right now.

We will be sure to keep you updated if the bill becomes law!