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- The Utah House passed a bill to end daylight saving time, moving it to the Senate for a vote.
- Rep. Joseph Elison sponsors the bill, citing public demand to stop clock changes.
- Concerns include impacts on sports and daily routines; Senate approval remains uncertain.
SALT LAKE CITY – The House of Representatives has given the green light to a bill letting Utah ditch daylight saving time.
One week after pausing debate on the closely watched measure, the Utah House resumed the discussion Wednesday afternoon and passed HB120 with a 52-23 vote.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Joseph Elison, R-Toquerville, now moves to the Senate where it could face an uphill battle based on recent comments from top leaders there.
Elison's bill would keep Utah on standard time year-round until federal law changes and allows Utah to observe daylight time.
"The purpose of this bill is simply this — that the citizens of the state of Utah for years upon years upon years have been asking this body to stop our clocks from moving backward and forward twice per year," Elison said.
Lawmakers said they heard from many constituents who oppose changing the clocks twice each year, but they were less enthusiastic about losing an hour of daylight in the summer.
"People do not want to change the clocks — that is until they find out what they're changing, what we're committing to, is not having that extra hour," said Rep. Clint Okerlund, R-Sandy.
"I'm afraid of what this does for our spring sports and our fall sports throughout our state," added Rep. Tom Peterson, R-Brigham City. "I will vote for this, but I'm extremely nervous about what happens when we actually implement this."
Rep. Mark Strong, R-Bluffdale, invoked the maintenance of his landscaping in opposition to the bill, saying he usually gets home from work around 7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. each evening.
"If we pass this bill," Strong said, smiling, "my yard is going to dilapidate and fall into disrepair."
Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, spoke in favor of the bill, arguing that the time change every spring and fall can have dramatic effects on people with special needs who struggle to adjust to the changing clocks.
"One of the reasons that I continue to serve is because I have a daughter with very, very special needs," he said. "She doesn't understand what this bill is about, but the one thing that she understands is when we change the clocks twice a year, it messes her schedule up, and it sometimes takes weeks to adjust."
He said the "health" and "logistical benefits make so much more sense to just keep it consistent."
The Utah Legislature passed a law in 2020 that would put the Beehive State on year-round mountain daylight time if the U.S. Congress approved it and if at least four Western states agreed to do the same thing. So far, that hasn't happened.
Elison argued his bill is the only thing lawmakers can do to stop the switching of clocks twice a year.
"I've heard people say this bill is such a waste of time — no pun intended," Elison said. "I think people know exactly what this means. I think people have been living this for decades."
But HB120 could face a tough road ahead in the Utah Senate, which rejected a similar bill in 2022. Senate GOP leaders, including President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, have expressed reluctance on multiple occasions to debate this issue again.
The legislative session runs through March 7.
