Americans are still adjusting to the latest time change after the last “fall back” to standard time took place on Sunday morning. We got an extra hour of sleep, but will now need to readjust our internal clocks as we lose daylight in the evening. Recent polls show that Americans are generally opposed to the current system of changing the clocks twice a year.
In fact, Californians in 2018 voted 60 percent to 40 percent in favor of Proposition 7, which allows “the California State Legislature to change the dates and times of the daylight saving time (DST) period, as consistent with federal law, by a two-thirds vote, including establishing permanent, year-round standard time or permanent, year-round DST (if federal law is changed to allow for permanent DST).”
Under federal law, states are free to adopt permanent standard time — Hawaii and Arizona have already done so — but need a congressional OK to adopt permanent DST. It’s all unnecessarily confusing and annoying, especially given that many voters thought the issue was resolved seven years ago. Since then, the Legislature in its typical fashion authorized a study that will review the effects of just having standard time. That isn’t due until 2027.
Like all “temporary” government programs, the use of Daylight Savings Time goes on and on well past its usefulness. A government program? Why, yes. As the National Conference of State Legislatures explains, “Daylight saving time was introduced in the United States during World War I as a temporary measure to conserve energy and was later standardized under the Uniform Time Act of 1966.” It’s a widely disliked social-engineering program.
President Donald Trump announced his desire to end DST, but it takes more than an edict from the president — and it’s not entirely clear whether he wants to adopt permanent standard time or permanent Daylight Savings Time. That’s where the debate gets more contentious. Some policy makers prefer the former, which more closely follows our internal (circadian) clock. Others prefer the latter, which provides more evening sunlight for outdoor activities. This sparks arcane health debates.
Research from Stanford Medicine scientists in September found that the nation’s current system is actually the worst of all worlds. “Either permanent standard time or permanent daylight saving time would be healthier than our seasonal waffling, with permanent standard time benefitting the most people,” they explained. Apparently, the current system leads to higher rates of stroke and obesity.
There’s no perfect solution, as there are, as they say, only so many (daylight) hours in a day. We’re not medical researchers, so we don’t claim to know which system is healthier, but the California public has spoken rather clearly on the subject in 2018. They want the Legislature to pick a system. They are tired of the annoyance.
In our view, following permanent standard time makes the most sense. The nation’s short-lived effort at permanent DST didn’t go so well. And permanent standard time is the most doable. Adopting DST requires an act of Congress. Every session, someone in Congress proposes ending the time changes, but the bills never see the light of day.
By contrast, California lawmakers can simply vote (by two-thirds) to move to standard time and end the fuss. It’s time for them to do so.