Amended in Assembly March 28, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 28

Introduced by Assembly Member Obernolte

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(Coauthor: Assembly Member Chu)

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January 26, 2016

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 28—Relative to daylight saving time.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 28, as amended, Obernolte. Daylight saving time.

This measure would memorialize the Congress and the President to enact legislation that would allow a state to adopt daylight saving time year round.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, The State of California is committed to attaining
50 percent of its energy generation from renewable sources and
to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent below
its 1990 level by 2030; and

WHEREAS, It is the responsibility of the state to employ any
and all means of energy reduction that will reduce reliance and
pressure on energy infrastructure in the state; and

WHEREAS, Daylight saving time was a widely used 20th
century energy reduction tool that can be expanded to meet 21st
century energy shortages; and

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WHEREAS, A 2008 federal Department of Energy report
concluded that extended daylight saving time saves the United
States approximately 0.5 percent energy each day that it is used,
and;

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WHEREAS, A report by the State Energy Resources
Conservation and Development Commission, issued in May 2001,
and titled “Effects of Daylight Saving Time on California
Electricity Use,” indicates that winter daylight saving time, as that
term is defined in the report, would likely reduce electricity use
by 3,400 megawatt hours per day and that summer double daylight
saving time, as that term is defined in the report, would likely
reduce electricity use by 1,500 megawatt hours per day, producing
a cost savings of $300,000,000 to $1,025,000,000 per year for
California ratepayers; and

WHEREAS, A 2004 study from Rutgers University titled “The
Effects of Daylight and Daylight Saving Time on United States
Pedestrian Fatalities and Motor Vehicle Occupant Fatalities” found
that year-round daylight saving time would reduce pedestrian
fatalities by 171 or 13 percent of all pedestrian fatalities per year
in the 5 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 9 p.m. time periods and reduce motor
vehicle occupants fatalities by 195 or 3 percent per year in the
same time period; and

WHEREAS, A 2015 study in The Review of Economics and
Statistics titled “Under the Cover of Darkness: How Ambient Light
Influences Criminal Activity” estimated a 7 percent decrease in
robberies following the shift to daylight saving time; and

WHEREAS, Scientists have connected a number of health
consequences with the act of switching between standard time and
daylight saving time, including greater risks of heart attacks, more
frequent traffic accidents and workplace injuries, and increased
suicide rates in the days immediately after the switch; and

WHEREAS, The citizens of California are being asked to make
major changes in their personal and professional lives to conserve
energy and would be grateful to receive the benefits of year-round
daylight saving time in return; and

WHEREAS, Although neither standard time nor daylight saving
time produces much energy reduction for the coldest states during
the more frigid months of the year, California enjoys a temperate
climate that would afford greater reductions in energy use by
utilizing a year-round daylight saving time plan; and

WHEREAS, The federal Uniform Time Act of 1966 allows
states to decline application of daylight saving time and provides
states with the option of practicing standard time year round, but
does not allow states to practice daylight saving time year round;
and

WHEREAS, By applying daylight saving time uniformly, the
state could avoid any inconsistencies in time application that would
otherwise impact and confuse the broadcasting, rail, airline, and
motor coach industries; and

WHEREAS, In House of Representatives Report No. 99-185
from the Committee on Energy and Commerce, numerous benefits
are listed in support of the extension of daylight saving time,
including significant energy conservation, improved traffic safety,
reduction in crime, economic growth, and overwhelming public
support; and

WHEREAS, The state would greatly benefit from having the
option of extending daylight saving time year round; now,
therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature of the State of California
respectfully memorializes the United States Congress and the
President of the United States to enact legislation that would allow
a state to adopt daylight saving time year round; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and to each
Senator and Representative from California in the Congress of the
United States.