Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SCR5, sponsored by Sen. Wayne Harper, R-Taylorsville, and co-sponsored by Rep. Bill Thurston, R-Provo, would direct the Utah Department of Transportation to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation to change Utah’s designated time from mountain standard time to Central Standard Time.
It also urges the U.S. Department of Transportation to approve the application and for Utah to opt out of daylight saving time to observe central standard time year-round.
That would mean that it would be one hour ahead of the Mountain time zone states during the winter, but would be on the same time as other Mountain time zone states during the daylight saving time period, which is typically from March through November.
“It’s a unique way to go through and address an issue that has been perplexing people for decades now,” Harper said Friday morning on KSL Newsradio’s "The Doug Wright Show."
Another aspect of the bill would have U.S. Congress adjust the 1966 Uniform Time Act to allow Utah to stay on standard time year-round, Harper said. Arizona (aside from Native American nations inside state borders) and Hawaii are currently the only states that remain on standard time throughout the year.
Utah and many other states across the country have proposed bills to stop participating in daylight saving time over the years but none have followed through.
Harper said the inspiration for the resolution came from growing complaints from his constituents about having to deal with daylight saving time.
“And more of those in my district are telling me ‘We would prefer to stay on the daylight saving times year-round because we think it’s better for us, for employment, it saves energy, we don’t have to internally change clocks, things of that nature,’” he said.
Harper said that he hadn’t heard responses from the Utah State Chamber of Commerce or World Trade Center Utah as of Friday morning. However, he said he looks at how other states have dealt with Arizona and U.S. counties that do not recognize daylight saving time as a template for how Utah can manage with its bordering states in a different time zone.
“It is very important,” Harper added. “Some people like (daylight saving time), some people don’t — it affects our business, affects our lifestyles, it affects education, it affects energy consumption, so we need to make sure we’re doing it right.”
Contributing: Doug Wright
