LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — In just two weeks, Americans in nearly every state will have to spring forward— losing an hour of sleep and resetting clocks from coast to coast as the nation switches to daylight saving time.
But what if that could be a thing of the past, at least here in Nevada?
Assemblywoman Selena La Rue Hatch, D-Washoe County, has introduced a bill — Assembly Bill 81 — that would exempt Nevada from observing daylight saving time and remain on permanent standard time year-round.
Assembly Bill 81 by noor.shami on Scribd
At least one of Nevada's neighbors — Arizona — already does this, as does Hawaii. 31 other states are considering legislation to do the same.
Here are a few questions and answers about the bill.
1. Why end daylight saving time now? La Rue Hatch says it's not just about the inconvenience of resetting your clocks and watches or losing that hour of sleep.
Instead, she says there are health consequences to changing the time. Heart attacks, strokes, anxiety, car accidents, and mental health issues such as seasonal depression all spike after a time change.
"These are not just folks that are upset at losing an hour of sleep or having to change their clock," La Rue Hatch said. "There are documented negative health effects that come from observing daylight saving time and changing our clocks twice a year."
Her bill has the backing of medical groups, including the Nevada Public Health Association. But it also has support from voters in La Rue Hatch's Reno district.
"I hear about this issue from my constituents constantly," La Rue Hatch said at a hearing on Monday. "And in talking to other Assembly members, it sounds like many of you also hear from your constituents about concerns over daylight saving time."
2. What, exactly, would it do? If approved, AB 81 would make it so that Nevada doesn't "spring forward" by an hour in March and "fall back" in November. Instead, it would "lock the clock" at standard times year-round.
As a result, mornings would be darker as the sunrise would occur later in the day.
3. Why not go with daylight saving time year-round instead? Because federal law doesn't allow it. Under existing federal law, states may exempt themselves from daylight saving time, provided an exemption applies to the entire state. However, no federal law provisions allow a state to adopt daylight saving time year-round.
4. When would it take effect? Under an amendment, if the bill is passed and approved by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Joe Lombardo, the new law would take effect Jan. 1, 2026.
That means we'd still have to spring forward on March 9 and fall back on Nov. 2 this year.
La Rue Hatch said she didn't want to cause confusion by springing forward in a couple of weeks but then falling back to standard time in July, when the bill was originally supposed to go into effect.
5. Who else supports the bill? The idea isn't partisan; state Senate Minority Leader Dr. Robin Titus, R-Lyon County, has a daylight-saving repeal bill of her own, Senate Bill 92. The Titus bill is identical to La Rue Hatch's measure.
6. Has this been tried before? Yes, several times, in fact. But no repeal bill has ever passed the Nevada Legislature. One bill sought to link Nevada's time change to California's since most of Nevada's drive-in customers live in the Golden State.
But La Rue Hatch said she wasn't willing to wait to change the time.
"We have tried it multiple times, but previous bills have tied us to, we'll change when California changes, or we'll change when the feds change, and in my opinion, we are the Nevada Legislature and I don't think we can wait on anybody else to do what's right for our constituents."
Do you have questions about the Legislature, politics, elections or laws in Nevada? Email us using the Ask Steve link on our website.
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