Time to end daylight saving? Public input sought

SALT LAKE CITY – Every fall and spring, the cries of people in support of or against daylight saving time ring out as millions of clocks are shifted one hour. At the just-completed legislative session, it was decided that it is time for the voices of Utah residents to be heard. To facilitate this, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development was tasked by the legislature to host a public forum to collect resident input.

A public forum will be held at the Clark Planetarium in Salt Lake City on July 10 from 10-11 a.m. This meeting will provide the public with the opportunity to explore all sides of the DST argument in a place that celebrates time and space. The current bill sponsors, Representative Ronda Rudd Menlove and Sen. Aaron Osmond, who has a bill file open for possible action during the next legislative session, will be on hand to receive comment. In order to give rural residents the opportunity to comment on the DST issue, surveys will also be taken at the rural summit in Cedar City in August.

Those unable to attend the public forums can go online and comment/vote regarding whether or not Utah should continue DST as it is or adjust it. Parents, senior citizens and representatives from agricultural, public education, recreation and business communities are all encouraged to contribute to the discussion.

The following three possibilities for daylight saving time will be explored through the website and the forums:

  1. Retain existing “spring forward” and “fall back” time as currently followed in Utah and nationally
  2. Align with Arizona on Mountain Standard Time for all 12 months of the year (e.g. fall back)
  3. Create a new daylight saving time, e.g. spring forward for all 12 months of the year

“Surprisingly, time changes have an economic and educational impact on our state,” Menlove said. “Recreation enthusiasts argue that the spring time change brings tourism and recreation dollars into the state coffers and farmers and ranchers have more daylight time to complete their work. However, parents and educators argue that the change has a negative impact on student learning at a critical point in the school year when end-of-level tests are administered. Public safety officials note an increase in accidents at each change of time. This issue needs to be properly weighed and debated in order to arrive at the best outcome for the most residents.”

Daylight saving time was first adopted by Germany during World War I in an effort to save fuel for the war effort by replacing artificial light with real light. In the mid-1960s, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act that standardized beginning and end time for DST in the U.S. The purpose of DST was to provide an extra hour of daylight during normal waking hours, with the intention that this would reduce electricity usage and lead to fewer traffic accidents in the evening. Currently, Arizona and Hawaii are the only states that don’t use the DST system.

If you have a strong opinion or just a personal preference regarding DST, go to business.utah.gov/time to let state officials know what you think. The comments and votes collected from the forums will be turned over to the legislature, which will then decide how to proceed with the larger question moving forward.

“I compliment GOED for taking this discussion seriously and designing a public input process that will allow the residents of Utah to voice their opinions regarding Daylight Saving Time,” Menlove said. “By creating opportunities to attend the forum or comment on the website, GOED is giving citizens an opportunity to be heard.”

Submitted by the Governor’s Office of Economic Development

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24 Comments

  • Kristin Schwiermann June 20, 2014 at 8:10 pm

    I like the spring forward!

  • KanabCowgirl June 20, 2014 at 10:09 pm

    #2 for me and my family!
    I and mine always have problems when the time change happens.

  • concerned citizen June 20, 2014 at 10:13 pm

    Old Navajo proverb says “Only a white man thinks he can cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket”
    I favor following Arizona’s lead. Sunlight earlier in the morning makes it safer for the kids as they walk to school. afterall, isn’t it about the children?

  • justin R June 20, 2014 at 10:25 pm

    PLEASE END IT! I find it annoying to have to get used to the time Change every six months. From a management stand point employees are always late as a result of the time change.

  • Moe June 20, 2014 at 10:36 pm

    We vote to end the craziness of it all. Leave us with mountain time!!

  • JAR June 20, 2014 at 11:09 pm

    Arizona has the logical reason, Just leave things alone.
    If folks want to mingle with Californians, let them move to the Pacific time zone.
    (I’m not saying this because I got 10 dang clocks in the house and 1 in each car, it’s because I usually break at lease one twice a year).

  • Linda Jackson June 21, 2014 at 9:13 am

    I lived in Arizona three years. Didn’t have the worry of getting clocks changed. You want more time in your day, get up earlier. I favor good ol MST all the time

  • St. George Resident June 21, 2014 at 11:07 am

    What a bunch of whiners here.

    • Chris June 21, 2014 at 3:11 pm

      I agree. Daylight savings make perfect sense to anyone who works for a living. Anyone who has trouble adjusting to the change is either an idiot or a wimp.

      • Nate June 21, 2014 at 5:26 pm

        Um… I work and I don’t consider myself a wimp or an idiot. Why you ask….? Oh it’s because I work full time and work on my Phd full time. Hmm, and I still don’t want to go through the nonsense of daylight savings time. Unlike most people who say they either want it or don’t want it just because it is based on personal opinion and not on economic/educational facts, I have actually researched it and still find that it makes more sense now that we get rid of it altogether. So, please don’t call me a wimp or an idiot. Just because you have your own personal opinion doesn’t mean you can speak for anyone else. The very fact that you are name calling shows us that you are not educated, informed or “tough.”

  • Sue G June 21, 2014 at 2:06 pm

    Follow AZ’s lead – Mountain Standard Time.

    • Joe June 29, 2014 at 7:12 pm

      Are you saying that our elected officials are not educated. They are the biggest bunch of name callers that i know.

  • Clay June 21, 2014 at 2:35 pm

    Best choice is #2

  • Big Guy June 21, 2014 at 2:43 pm

    St. George is on the western edge of the Mountain Time Zone. That means our sunrises and sunsets are already up to one hour later than Colorado and western Kansas. DST means we’re “in the dark” well into the morning in the spring and fall. And not many benefit from summer sunsets at 9 PM and twilight until 10 PM. Arizona and Hawaii got it right!

  • DB June 21, 2014 at 2:47 pm

    I agree with option #2. Back in the “olden days” DST made more sense when most of our electricity use was for lighting. Today, I don’t use my computer or TV any less just because the sun goes down an hour later this time of year. Get rid of daylight savings…

  • Chris June 21, 2014 at 3:15 pm

    Many people I know who complain about the time change are most upset about the disruption to their sleep on church days. My answer–skip church that day. Come to think of it–skip church every day. Problem solved.

  • Deke June 21, 2014 at 3:17 pm

    I favor daylight savings all year round (as first proposed by Reagan back in the 80’s). makes no sense to me to voluntarily endure early darkness in winter, making it more dreary than necessary. but y’all can feel safe because apparently I’m far in the minority; only 12% have voted for year-round DST on the Utah.gov/time opinion site linked in the article!

  • St George Couple June 22, 2014 at 8:22 am

    I would stick to #1 because when you drive to and from work, there are times that the sun blocks the traffic lights. Using the daylight savings can help to move the sun away from the traffic lights, so you won’t hurt your eyes. I know that changing the clocks can interupt your sleeping hours also cause some car accidents. All I can say is give yourselves extra sleeping hours ahead, would help.

  • Leo June 22, 2014 at 1:45 pm

    As a father with a baby, a 2 year old and a 4 your old it throws me off and it throws my kids off every time. I honestly couldn’t care less which one gets picked, but I would really appreciate it if our law makers would pick one or the other and stick with it.

  • jeanette June 23, 2014 at 8:45 pm

    I hate daylight savings. Why do we have to change it all the time. It has no purpose. Any more

  • diane july 3 2014 at 9;30 pm July 3, 2014 at 9:29 pm

    I also hate daylight saving. I vote for #2

  • diane july 3 2014 at 9;30 pm July 3, 2014 at 9:32 pm

    I also don’t like daylight savings. I vote for #2

  • diane july 3 2014 at 9;30 pm July 3, 2014 at 9:34 pm

    I also do not like daylight savings. I vote for #2

  • munchie November 1, 2015 at 12:43 am

    Go to DST all the time. Makes it easier to play golf after work.

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