State Senators Bob Peterson (R-Washington Court House) and Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) testified this week before a House panel in support of their proposed legislation, which would exempt Ohio from the federal requirement to change between Daylight Saving Time and Standard Time twice a year.
Their Sunshine Protection Act bill would require Ohio to remain in Daylight Saving Time all year around, rather than switch (“fall back”) by setting clocks back one hour on the first Sunday of November each year.
“As I heard once, clocks are meant to go around and around, not jump back and forth,” Roegner told the General Government and Agency Review Committee.
Daylight Saving Time, first proposed by Benjamin Franklin as a way to save on candle wax, was instituted in the United States during World War I to extend daylight working hours and preserve the fuel that created artificial light for the war effort.
Technological advancements have reduced power consumption by creating more efficient artificial lighting, Peterson said.
“This is an important discussion to have given how modern technology has changed the way we live our lives today, as well as the fact nobody enjoys the ‘spring forward’ and losing an hour of sleep,” he said Peterson.
Peterson and Roegner claim there are studies that have found the time actually increases energy use and they argued the time change makes roads less safe because drivers are sleep-deprived.
Similar bills have been introduced or have been approved in other state shut observers are beginning to ask about the confusion that may result in business and entertainment when residents of some states are not certain what time “zone” those in other states are when not everyone “spring forward” or “falls Back” at the same time.
