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AUSTIN (KXAN) — Are you still recovering from changing that clock an hour forward over the weekend? Well, imagine if there was no more springing forward or falling back. One lawmaker wants to make time change a thing of the past for all Texans.
House Bill 150 was drafted by Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Canton, in November 2014. The bill was debated by the House’s Government Transparency and Operation Committee on Wednesday, but was left pending in committee. It will likely be voted on next week or the week after.
If the bill passes the full legislature, the Lone Star State will be exempt from any future time changes, meaning the state would stay on “Daylight Saving Time.” The bill is being reworded to reflect this, and not that the state will do away with Daylight Saving Time.
The change in wording goes against what Flynn said before, who cited safety benefits of not observing Daylight Saving Time. He said some children have to head to school before the sun comes up and that’s not safe. There’s also research that says switching back and forth is bad on our health.
“Central standard time, or as I like to call it ‘Texas time’, is what we should be going by and it’s really kind of interesting because so many people say they really just don’t like to put up with it,” Flynn said before the committee meeting. “Another myth is that it was going to save us a lot of money, but there’s an Indiana study that says it actually cost us more money.”
The wording change came after feedback from constituents, according to Flynn’s office.
Many people have also heard Daylight Saving was developed because of farming — more hours of daylight means more time in the field for farmers. But that is not true. Germany was the first country to implement it, and the United States took up the practice upon entering World War I, hypothetically to save energy. That’s why Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller says the change does not affect the industry.
“I think it’s irrelevant, I don’t think it really matters. We get up and start at sunrise, and finish when the chores are done. Most of the days we don’t look at the clock,” Miller said.
Right now, Arizona and Hawaii are the only places in the country that do not use Daylight Saving Time. Texas is not the only state considering to eliminate the twice a year time change. The states of Utah and Nebraska have thought about dropping it. Lawmakers in Missouri are also looking over a plan similar to the one proposed in Texas.
If the bill passes, Texas would not ‘fall back’ in 2015.
House Bill 150 was drafted by Rep. Dan Flynn, R-Canton, in November 2014. The bill was debated by the House’s Government Transparency and Operation Committee on Wednesday, but was left pending in committee. It will likely be voted on next week or the week after.
If the bill passes the full legislature, the Lone Star State will be exempt from any future time changes, meaning the state would stay on “Daylight Saving Time.” The bill is being reworded to reflect this, and not that the state will do away with Daylight Saving Time.
The change in wording goes against what Flynn said before, who cited safety benefits of not observing Daylight Saving Time. He said some children have to head to school before the sun comes up and that’s not safe. There’s also research that says switching back and forth is bad on our health.
“Central standard time, or as I like to call it ‘Texas time’, is what we should be going by and it’s really kind of interesting because so many people say they really just don’t like to put up with it,” Flynn said before the committee meeting. “Another myth is that it was going to save us a lot of money, but there’s an Indiana study that says it actually cost us more money.”
The wording change came after feedback from constituents, according to Flynn’s office.
Many people have also heard Daylight Saving was developed because of farming — more hours of daylight means more time in the field for farmers. But that is not true. Germany was the first country to implement it, and the United States took up the practice upon entering World War I, hypothetically to save energy. That’s why Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller says the change does not affect the industry.
“I think it’s irrelevant, I don’t think it really matters. We get up and start at sunrise, and finish when the chores are done. Most of the days we don’t look at the clock,” Miller said.
Right now, Arizona and Hawaii are the only places in the country that do not use Daylight Saving Time. Texas is not the only state considering to eliminate the twice a year time change. The states of Utah and Nebraska have thought about dropping it. Lawmakers in Missouri are also looking over a plan similar to the one proposed in Texas.
If the bill passes, Texas would not ‘fall back’ in 2015.
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