No, Texas Lawmakers Probably Won’t End The Time Change
Here we are once again, the Monday after another time change. Some people are in a bad mood, others are just tired after losing an hour's worth of sleep. And once again we see lawmakers in Austin coming up with legislation that end the time change, if voters wanted to.
Texas State Senator Paul Bettencourt has filed SJR 86 that would put the issue on the November ballot. It would allow voters to vote for or against a "constitutional amendment requiring this state to observe daylight saving time year-round. In the House, Texas State Representative Mike Schofield filed a companion piece of legislation, HJR 22, which was referred to the State Affairs Committee at the end of February.
Sounds great right? Don't get your hopes up.
In at least the last legislative sessions there has been legislation filed that end the time change. It makes a few headlines, but outside office discussion and talk radio, there is really no debate on the issue. The full House or Senate hasn't even taken up the issue in the past. Even if this were to pass, there is no guarantee that voters would approve it. While just about all of us think the time change is annoying, there is a split among people about whether they want to stick to standard time or daylight time. In fact, the people may not even have the final say according to the Dallas Morning News. The federal government may be the ones who decide.
Bettencourt said if the measure is eventually approved by voters, the decision to permanently keep the time change depends on Congress. Federal law currently does not allow for a shift to daylight time, only to remain on standard time.
Last year, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill known as the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight time permanent year-round, but it died in the House. The legislation was reintroduced this year by a bipartisan group of senators including Florida Republican Marco Rubio.
“We can’t get to DST unless Congress actually passes the Rubio bill or something like it,” Bettencourt said.
Like I wrote earlier, don't get your hopes up on anything changing anytime soon.
For the record, I would vote for staying where we are right now.