Dear Honorable Members of the STATE Legislature:

The undersigned organizations, comprising the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time, support the elimination of biannual clock change in March and November through restoration of permanent standard time and not permanent daylight saving time. The Coalition represents various interests and industries united around establishing permanent standard time in the United States.

Standard time aligns most closely with the position of the sun, and this alignment of clocks to the natural world is crucial for physical and mental health. Sunlight is the most powerful external cue for the human circadian rhythm, a system that affects all aspects of biological function. Morning sunlight in particular harmonizes our bodies’ rhythms with our environment. It helps us wake without an alarm and fall asleep on time, it boosts mood throughout the day, and it improves our health and immunity. By better aligning body rhythms to clock time, permanent standard time improves alertness and brain function, for better safety and performance on roadways, in the workplace, and at school.

Daylight saving time artificially shifts the clocks an hour forward, misaligning clock time and solar time. This misalignment disrupts sleep and body rhythms, especially in teenagers and in individuals with early work or school start times. Artificially delayed sunrises and sunsets significantly increase risks of depression, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and fatal car crashes. If daylight saving time were made permanent, the health and brain effects would be exponentially worse, due to loss of morning sunlight in winter.

If daylight saving time were made permanent in STATE, the sun would not rise until after TIME AM for up to MONTHS every year. The long, dark mornings caused by permanent daylight saving time would make it difficult to wake and commute to school and work during the winter. The safety of children waiting at the bus stop, walking, or driving to school would be jeopardized in the darkness. These concerns caused public support for permanent daylight saving time to plummet after Congress enacted the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act of 1973. After experiencing just one winter of permanent daylight saving time, Congress reversed course by reinstating standard time during the winter months, beginning in November 1974.
Instituting permanent standard time is the most efficient way to eliminate the twice-yearly change, while protecting public health and safety, people of faith, daily commuters, and schoolchildren.

On behalf of the Coalition and all those we represent, please vote YES/NO on this bill.