After the year we’ve all had in 2020, I gotta say I’m excited to be writing about 2021.
This post is available to all, of course, but is specifically written for state legislators, and staff. For the first time ever, you now have the wind at your back as you think about carrying or voting for a bill to fix Daylight Saving Time.
Indeed last year, before Covid hit, we saw a record number of bills and resolutions pass, and a bunch of others looked like they were on their way, but then… Well, you know what happened.
But this year, I think, we will see a real focus on legislation that actually helps real people. And after the difficult political year we’ve all just had, some honestly bipartisan solutions will be a breath of fresh air.
Fixing Daylight Saving Time fits both of those to a T — and the T stands for Time to #LockTheClock.
Much of this blog post is adapted from a presentation I recently made to legislators via the crack staff at the National Conference of State Legislators.
Here’s the slide deck:
I realize some of that won’t really make sense without my explanation, but I’ll try to do that here.
(This presentation came after an excellent slide deck and talk from Rep. Ray Ward of Utah, who is also a doctor. He spoke about the tortured history of DST, and the real world health dangers of clock changing. Rep. Ward included in his presentation this video from John Oliver about the history of DST. The history is so convoluted, that it seems only comedians do it justice… Here’s another DST explainer from The Daily Show with Trevor Noah featuring yours truly. And if you want to see a collection of research into why the clock changing is deadly, see this page of DST research.)
So, working from the (correct) assumption that fixing Daylight Saving Time is a good idea for public policy, health, and good governance, here are some considerations for you for the 2021 session:
Who will be for you, and against you?
With an unusual issue like this, you’ll have an unusual set of lobbyists working both for and against you.
Before we get to the lobbyists, however, let’s look at what the constituent response might be.
In general, people really hate clock changing. All the public polling I’ve seen is super clear on that, and a referendum in California passed by a huge margin.
The problem with most polling is that they ask questions like: Are you for or against Daylight Saving Time? An answer to that could mean almost anything.
Rep. Ward asked the question of his constituents that I wish some big pollster would ask: If we don’t change the clocks any more, which time should we go into permanently? The answer was more than 2-1 for staying in Permanent DST.
So… we know that constituents care, and we know that they prefer year-round DST. What about the lobbyists?
The most active lobbying I’ve seen when I’ve testified around the country is from the golf industry. They show up everywhere pushing the idea that more sunlight later in the day is great for golfers, especially students.
Other lobbyists have been spotted working more behind the scenes. This includes the television industry, especially broadcast sports. (They want it dark outside so people will go inside and sit on the couch and watch TV.)
Here’s how I broke it down in that presentation:
If you propose anything at all related to Daylight Saving Time, you should expect to get a great constituent response. Just mention it in your newsletter or on your Twitter feed or whatever, and be prepared for a much stronger response than any vote you might take on the budget, etc.
Also, you should do some press outreach, and you may or may not be surprised at the response you get. I was a reporter, and I dreaded getting pitched by legislators in general, but a story about Daylight Saving Time? Now there’s one that’s fun to write, that editors eat up, and that will get the most clicks of any other story on the day it comes out.
One other thing you’ll have going for you is… well… me. If the logistics work out I can come to your state and testify as I have all over the country. If I can testify remotely (something that seems way more possible in this Zoom-world we now live in) all the better. If you want, I can put you in touch with the sponsors of bills that I’ve testified for, and I think they’ll all tell you it helps elevate the conversation quite a bit.
Who will be against you, no matter what?
Really, there’s nobody that is in favor of keeping the twice-yearly time change. The whole thing with the farmers is bunk, and in fact farm lobbyists have started supporting bills that Lock The Clock. And while some school groups may have an opinion about what time zone your state should lock into, they are not automatically against any changes to DST.
So, you start out in a good place.
Permanent Standard Time
Now, if you want to introduce a bill to lock into Permanent Standard Time, the time we use in the winter…
I have always been clear that this blog doesn’t take an official position on the question of what time zone a state should go into permanently. There are legitimate differences from state to state.
So, if you want to propose having your state move to permanent Standard Time, I will support you and work to help you in any way I can.
That said, you should understand the dynamics you’ll be facing.
On your side most prominently is federal law. The way the law is written your state can move into permanent Standard Time right now. Just pass a bill, get it signed by the governor and send it to the federal Department of Transportation, and it’s done. That’s what Arizona and Hawaii did back in the 1960s.
Also on your side will be a certain very vocal and organized subset of sleep researchers. In the last year this group has suddenly (and somewhat mysteriously) become very active, and has been sending researchers out to testify for or against bills. If you propose permanent Standard Time, they’ll testify on your behalf, and sound super authoritative while doing so.
Working against you, however, will be any number of lobbyists. The golf industry really does make a lot of extra money for every extra month of Daylight Saving Time, so they will work hard to kill your bill.
I haven’t seen as much active opposition from other interested groups, like outdoor cooking, retailers, public health advocates like the heart and stroke associations, depression and mental health advocates, etc., but I do know that their awareness on this issue is growing, and their interest in actually working against your bill may be growing along with their heightened awareness.
Permanent Daylight Saving Time
If you think the best thing for your state is to move to permanent Daylight Saving Time, here’s what you have going for you:
First, of course, is that most of your constituents want this. That alone is pretty strong, and if you want to pack a hearing room, just send out a newsletter and tell them this bill is happening, and people will show up.
And then you’ll have the inverse of the situation above. You’ll have someone from a sleep research group show up to talk about the chronic problems with the sun coming up later relative to the clock. They will do this no matter how far east you are in your time zone.
Also, the TV people may lurk in the shadows and work to kill your bill without leaving any fingerprints.
(If you are in Colorado, my home state, you are doomed. Or at least, you had been in the past. Maybe things are changing?)
And you will also have to deal with the federal law, which is the perfect segue to talk about what’s going to happen this year in Washington.
Federal DST action
I’m writing this post in November, and it now looks like we will probably continue with what we had before: a Democratic House and a Republican Senate.
Daylight Saving Time is now, always has been, and always will be a totally bipartisan issue, so that’s fine, with one exception: The chairmanship of the Senate Commerce Committee will likely stay the same.
That chairman, Sen. Roger Wicker of Mississippi, has yet to allow a DST bill to even get a hearing. He could kill the bill in the committee, but that would be more work than just not even letting the bill get a hearing in the first place.
If Democrats do get control of the Senate, the chair of the Commerce Committee will likely become Sen. Maria Cantwell of Washington State. This is great news because Washington State’s legislature passed a strong Permanent DST bill, and in general U.S. Senators like to represent their constituents as signified by movement from the state legislature. (It was almost immediately after Florida passed its groundbreaking bill in 2018 that Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida introduced a bill to put the whole country into permanent DST.)
But there is good news. One new member of the U.S. House is Jay Obernolte, who has been a longtime advocate for fixing DST in the California legislature. He can join with his fellow Californian Rep. Ro Khanna, who has publicly been a big supporter of fixing DST.
Also good news is that Mississippi, where Sen. Wicker is from, had eight different DST bills last session, but as in so many states, they all essentially died when the legislature went home because of Covid in March. If Mississippi can pass a bill this year, maybe that will get the attention of Sen. Wicker and he’ll let a bill get a hearing.
If not, we’ll just have to assume that he’s in the pocket of the TV industry, and I just refuse to believe that.
How to actually pass something
Here’s the last slide I’ll leave you with in this post:
What I’ve learned from watching all the bills that pass, and that don’t pass, is summed up on that slide.
- Go regional. If you make your bill dependent on other states around you, you’ll have an easier time passing a bill. It makes sense: It’s a lower risk vote, and it shows the regional nature of the topic.
- Go for permanent DST. In a handful of states like Indiana, Kentucky, Nebraska, Idaho and perhaps a couple of others for regional reasons, permanent Standard Time may make more sense, but for nearly all of the others you are just going to get too much opposition from lobbyists and constituents to get a bill signed.
- Pass a resolution. Sure, it doesn’t have the force of law, but it will be a great signal to your federal delegation that they should get on board of a federal solution that allows you to Lock The Clock.
- Run a referendum. If your state allows it, you could ask the people of your state which time zone they want to lock into. The background of this idea is here, and the actual text from Legislative Council is here.
- Ask for a study. This is what Massachusetts did and New York probably would have done had Covid not hit. (By the way, a study in your state is probably going to show the same thing that the Massachusetts’ study showed: moving to permanent DST is the best solution.)
Thank you very much for your service to your district and your state and your country, and the fact that you are interested in this topic shows that you are interested in being a real servant to your constituents.
Please be in touch and let me know how I can be helpful to you.