Time Zone Report

Following Daylight Saving Time legislation in the US

Legislative Summary

Here is a summary of the bills I know of as of today, March 1, 2017, grouped by type of bill.

See the “Bills By State – 2017” menu for a listing by state, with links to each bill’s status page.

Bills to Exempt from DST

These are the bills that, if passed, can actually take effect against DST.

  • Colorado’s HB 1118 has failed.
  • Connecticut’s two bills (HB 5090 and HB 5734) in this category were referred to committee in early January, so they’re not likely to see any progress.
  • Illinois’ HB 3129 was assigned to the Executive Committee 2/22.
  • Iowa’s two bills (HF 206 and SF 168) are both in a special subcommittee as of early February.
  • Maine’s LD 203 would exempt from DST and includes a request to change Time Zones.
  • Missouri’s HJR 5 is likely Failed, as the last action was on 1/5 and it is not on any calendar or assigned to any committee.
  • Montana’s SB 206 has passed the Senate, and has had a first reading in the House.
  • Nebraska’s LB 309 has a Notice of Hearing for March 3, so there is still hope for this bill.
  • North Dakota’s SB 2167 has Failed at the Second Reading in the Senate.
  • Texas’ HB 2400 was just filed 2/24, while HB 95 and SB 238, filed in late 2016, have been referred to committee.
  • Utah’s HJR 2 would put the question of being exempt from DST to a non-binding vote of the people, but has Failed to be recommended in committee.
  • Washington’s SB 5329 had a public hearing 2/1, but no progress since. No word on whether it’s active or failed.
  • Wyoming’s SF 125 Failed; it would have had the state request to go on Central Standard Time then exempt itself from DST, but then call it “Mountain Daylight Time” all year long.  Their HB 141 also failed.

Bills for Year-Round DST

As I’ve said many times, the Department of Transportation will quash any attempt to adopt a Year-Round DST.  But some states still want to try:

  • Connecticut’s SB 33 went to a public hearing on 2/27, but I’ve seen no other progress or activity since.
  • Illinois’ HB 424 was assigned to the Executive Committee 1/25.
  • Michigan’s HB 4011 was read and referred to the Commerce and Trade committee 1/11; with no action since, it’s likely Failed.
  • Mississippi’s continual Year-Round DST efforts continued with HB 307 and HB 449, both of which failed in late January.
  • New Mexico’s SB 239 miraculously has Do Pass recommendation from two Senate committees.
  • Wyoming’s HB 49 failed.

Bills for Time Zone Changes

Depending on the language of the bill, it could pass as a request and still be “valid”, and even could ultimately end up getting the DOT to change a state’s time zone; but a bill that simply declares a new time zone will likely be quashed by the DOT.

  • Maine’s LD 203 would exempt the state from DST and make the request to go to Atlantic time.
  • Wyoming’s SF 125 proposes to go on Central Standard Time, then exempt the state from DST.  But then goes on to say they’ll call their time “Mountain Daylight Time” all year long.

Bills Urging Congress to Act

Bills in this category typically ask Congress to make a change to the Time Standard code, typically asking to allow Year-Round DST.

  • Mississippi’s HC 36 would “urge the Congress of the United States to enact appropriate legislation to give individual states the option of establishing daylight saving time as the standard time in their respective states throughout the calendar year.”
  • New Jersey’s SR 90 makes a limited request to Congress and the President, to extend DST until the general election.

Safety Proclamation Bills

Some states don’t address DST directly, but instead issue proclamations to remind their citizens to be extra cautious around the weekend when clocks are changed.

  • Massachusetts has 3 bills: S 1720, S 1905, and H 1700.  These are proclamations “relative to sleep deprivation avoidance and promotion of good sleeping practices” at the start and end of DST.
  • Pennsylvania’s SR 31 proclaims March 5 through March 12, 2017 as “Sleep Awareness Week”.

Other Bills

So here is where it gets interesting… the “other bills” that may or may not actually have any effect on a state’s observance of DST or time zone, but somehow manage to make some specific impact with reference to DST.  Note that some bills where DST is simply mentioned are not included.

  • In California — a state well known for it’s citizen initiatives — their AB 807 is a bill which would repeal the vote of the people relating to DST way back in 1949.  Any initiative by the people can only be repealed by the people, but if this passes, it paves the way for the legislature to do “something else”, which could be as simple as exempting the state from DST.
  • Missouri’s SB 229 is especially interesting to me, since I also have a healthcare background.  Apparently there is a state statute that restricts the number of hours a state employee can work in a mental health facility within a 24 hour period, and when DST “falls back”, an extra hour gets pushed into everyone’s day.  This bill exempts that day from the restriction.
Updated: March 1, 2017 — 11:09 am

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