Permanent daylight saving time in WA takes one step further

After years of awaiting congressional approval for permanent daylight saving time in Washington, U.S. lawmakers voted Thursday to advance a proposal to stay on daylight saving time for states nationwide.

The Sunshine Protection Act passed out of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee, and would make daylight saving time permanent for every state, although states would be able to opt out and stay on standard time. President Donald Trump has signaled his strong support for the bipartisan effort.

Washington is one of 19 states that have passed legislation in recent years to put an end to switching clocks twice a year, but ultimately it was Congress who had the final say.

Approval for a permanent daylight saving time by the state Legislature and then-Gov. Jay Inslee in 2019 was the furthest the proposal had gone in Washington, though lawmakers had been attempting for years to make the change through statute.

Previous attempts to end the practice were geared toward keeping the state on standard time – a move that was unpopular, according to state lawmakers. Under the federal Uniform Time Act, states can choose not to observe daylight saving time, but states do not have authority to permanently stay on daylight saving time.

A permanent daylight saving time would mean more sunlight in the evening and a later sunrise in the morning, meaning darker mornings especially in the winter.

Still, the push to adopt either a permanent daylight saving time or standard time, or to keep making the twice-yearly switch, is heavily debated.

Doctors with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine said in a 2020 statement that the transition between both two times a year increases the risk for "adverse cardiovascular events, mood disorders, and motor vehicle crashes."

And while those in support of permanent daylight saving time say the move would promote public health and allow people to have more time in the day with more sunlight, sleep experts argue it would interfere with circadian rhythms.

Those in Eastern Washington who are close to the edge of the Pacific Time Zone would also be disproportionately impacted by the change, as the sun sets earlier in that part of the state than in Western Washington.

While it's uncertain if the latest measure will clear the hurdles it needs to get a signature from Trump, Thursday's vote could help enable final approval. Similar efforts on a national level in recent years were unsuccessful. In 2022, Senate lawmakers passed legislation to make daylight saving time permanent, but the bill stalled before a vote in the House.

A Senate version of the bill was also introduced this year with a bipartisan host of sponsors including Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, but the bill has so far not moved out of committee.

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