Idaho still has to spring forward

Idahoans can keep looking forward to (or dreading) setting their clocks forward an hour this Sunday at 2 a.m., despite efforts in the Legislature to stop the change.

House Bill 358, by Rep. Christy Zito, R-Hammett, would have exempted Idaho from observing daylight saving time. This would have put the state at odds with neighbors Oregon and Washington, which have both passed legislation putting them on permanent daylight saving time pending congressional approval.

Zito acknowledged a permanent jump forward might be preferable to many Idahoans — but that would mean waiting for the federal government to sign off. Zito said she wanted to put an immediate stop to common problems that came with the twice-yearly shift, citing research linking loss of sleep associated with springing forward and negative health effects including car crashes and heart attacks.

Zito testified before the House State Affairs committee that she had received continuous messages of support from constituents for her efforts after a similar bill failed in the House during the 2019 session.

Several committee members expressed concern about logistical issues between Idaho’s two time zones and in communities bordering other states that still observed daylight savings. Nevertheless, the committee approved the bill and sent it to the full House with a do-pass recommendation in late January.

Then the bill waited on a vote for several floor sessions before House Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, moved to return it to the committee, effectively killing Zito’s proposal for the 2020 legislative session.

But not all hope is lost for Idahoans who yearn for later sunsets year-round. On Monday, Sen. Jim Patrick, R-Twin Falls, introduced a bill that would put areas of Idaho in the Mountain time zone on permanent daylight saving time, provided Utah does the same.

Utah’s legislature last week voted to make the switch permanent, but as with other Idaho neighbors, they’ll have to wait and see if Congress votes to amend federal law and allow them to do so.

With so many states pushing for a change in recent years — there was even a bill introduced in Congress to make daylight savings permanent nationwide last year — Patrick said the sentiment among Idaho legislators is that the federal government will OK the move sooner rather than later.

Patrick said his constituents had been wanting to make the move for years, as had many legislators, but roadblocks at the federal level made a state push difficult.

“I guess I just don’t like having to change, and neither do my constituents,” Patrick, a longtime farmer, said. “Longer hours in the afternoon mean more time for recreating, and it works better for feeding cattle — moving that feeding an hour back and forth won’t work out for you well.”

Plus, keeping Idaho on the same page with regional hubs like Spokane and Salt Lake City simply works better for commerce, Patrick said. He said if surrounding states change their time, it would only make sense to have Idaho shift too.

Another bill by Sen. Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens, would have Idaho’s Pacific time zone, including everything north of Riggins, switch if Washington’s change makes it through Congress. That bill passed the Senate unanimously and on Monday received a do-pass recommendation from the House State Affairs committee, ensuring a House floor vote in the coming days.

Riley Haun is an intern with the University of Idaho McClure Center for Public Policy Research and the UI JAMM News Service.