In between wondering why it is dark outside when you wake up and adjusting the clock on the microwave, you might have asked why this is still happening.
Early Sunday morning, we turned our clocks ahead one hour, springing to daylight saving time. For many of us, scientists say, that results in a couple days of lethargy that feels like jet lag while the body adjusts to the time change. For others, it is simply an annoyance, and one that was supposed to be in the past.
Last year, after all, the Legislature passed a bill to do away with the biannual changing of the clocks. And Gov. Jay Inslee signed the legislation to put Washington on daylight saving time year-round. That should be the end of it, right? And if this wasn’t the end, at least we won’t have to fall back in a couple months, right?
Au contraire. Because the fate of Washington’s clocks now is in the hands of Congress.
Under federal law, states may adopt permanent standard time or may change their clocks twice a year. Previous efforts in the Legislature to embrace standard time have failed to, um, see the light of day, but last year’s daylight saving bill had broad support.
That creates a problem. If states desire to be on daylight saving time year-round, it is up to federal lawmakers. The Sunshine Protection Act (S.670), introduced last year by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., would establish daylight saving time year-round across the nation. It has attracted 12 co-sponsors, including Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., but has mostly been ignored in Congress.
“I’ve heard complaints from people across the state about ‘falling back’ and ‘springing forward’ for years,” Murray said last year. “Now that the state has taken action, I am working at the federal level with my colleagues up and down the West Coast to explore every option –whether through legislative or regulatory action — to make this policy a reality in our state.”
Many Americans, it seems, would welcome that policy change. A 2019 poll by The Associated Press found that 71 percent of the public would prefer to stop changing clocks twice a year, although respondents were divided on whether they prefer daylight saving or standard time.
Around here, public opinion seems to favor extra daylight in the afternoon rather than in the morning. But despite Washington’s predilection, there are reasons for preferring standard time.
Research shows that people sleep less after daylight saving commences, and scientists say that morning light is helpful in syncing the body’s circadian rhythms. On the other hand, Steve Calandrillo of the University of Washington argues that daylight saving time saves lives and energy and prevents crime.
Regardless of the arguments one way or the other, elected officials in Washington have stated their preference for daylight saving. So have lawmakers in Oregon and voters in California. Even officials in British Columbia have said they will pursue year-round daylight saving time if it is adopted by their West Coast neighbors.
As long as Washington and Oregon are in sync — it would be a little confusing to cross the Columbia River and enter a different time zone — we are certain that Clark County residents can adjust to whatever the clock says. But we’re also certain that most citizens would prefer to dispense with the changing of the clocks twice a year.
Congress should establish either standard time or daylight saving time year-round throughout the country. The time, as the saying goes, is now.
