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SALT LAKE CITY — The sponsor of a bill to do away with Daylight Saving Time in Utah says his proposal is in earnest.
"This is not a publicity stunt, and this is not a message bill," Rep. Jim Nielson, R-Bountiful said Friday before the House Judiciary Committee. "I find it ironic that (a newspaper editorial) called it a meaningless message bill, then spent a whole column opposing it."
Many on the committee seemed to take the idea seriously, voicing personal opinions on the time change before they voted 7-5 not to pass HB199 along to the full House.
Rep. Derek Brown, R-Salt Lake City, who voted in support of the measure, noted that about two-thirds of people emailing him are in favor of getting rid of Daylight Saving Time.
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"And I'm one of them," Brown said. "It's an anachronism; it's a kickback to a very outdated time." However, he expressed concern for any disruption the proposal might cause Utah businesses.
"I'd love to see all the states do away with it," he said. "In my mind that's the question. Is it worth Utah being out of sync?"
Rep. Brian King, D-Salt Lake City, opposed the bill.
"I'm ambivalent myself, but I think we ought to spend the time debating more pressing matters," King said.
Noting the idea has received much public attention, Nielson said those who have emailed him opposing earlier summer sunsets seemed to have concerns over reducing recreational time during warmer months.
But since Daylight Saving Time has been in effect for generations — since World War II — how doing away with it might affect daily life "is based on theory not experience," Nielson said.
He ticked off what he believes are the negative aspects to the biannual change in time:
- Sick and elderly have difficulty adjusting to the change.
- Students walking to school in the dark is a hazard, and studies show they learn better in daylight.
- Heart attacks and strokes are more common during the time changeover.
- Autistic children and their families don't make the adjustment well.
- With much of Utah on the western edge of the Mountain Time Zone, early mornings are even darker.
• Many sick and elderly have difficulty adjusting to the twice-a- year change.
• Students are now going to school in pre-dawn hours four times more what they would otherwise, and are more at risk as pedestrians, he said. An architect, Nielson said ample studies show students perform better in classrooms lighted by the sun.
• An emergency room nurse told him that heart attacks and strokes are more common during the time changeover.
• Parents of autistic children have told him that the adjustment in schedule wreaks havoc on their families.
• With much of Utah on the western edge of the Mountain Time Zone, early mornings are even darker than farther east, he said.
Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, who voted against the proposal, said he grew up in Indiana where until recently half the state observed Daylight Saving Time and half did not.
He did not like the process of going in and out of sync with surrounding areas, he said, and doesn't want Utah to do the same.
"Honestly, it was a mess. It made things very difficult," Ray said. "That's just kind of a life lesson I learned from not going on savings time at all."
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