This West Coast state wants to stop Daylight Saving Time — but only if California does, too

Hanh Truong
·1 min read
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Oregon passed a new bill, nudging California to lead the West Coast in ending Daylight Saving Time.

On Monday, Oregon’s Senate passed Senate Bill 1548, an effort to abolish the annual practice of changing the clocks by one hour from standard time to DST.

Essentially, if the bill is approved, clocks would stay in standard time and residents in the Pacific Time Zone portion of Oregon won’t have to “spring forward” every year and lose an hour of sleep in March.

But the caveat is that California and Washington must follow suit and put an end to DST, too, within the next 10 years.

If the two states don’t follow through by 2034, the Oregon bill will be repealed.

According to the Oregon Legislative Information website, the bill does not have a revenue impact on the state and has “minimal fiscal impact.” The bill is under consideration in the Oregon House.

Didn’t California already vote to stop the time change?

In 2018, a majority of California residents voted in favor of Proposition 7, which allows the State Legislature to establish year-round standard time or daylight time.

After the proposition passed, Assemblyman Democrat Kansen Chu introduced an assembly bill but it died in committee.

After Chu left office, Irvine Republican Assemblyman Steven Choi introduced Assembly Bill 2868 in 2021. The bill, which proposed year-round daylight saving time under Proposition 7, died the following year. The decision would have needed federal approval.

What is the origin of daylight saving time? Didn’t California vote to stop the change?

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