BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY, UTILITIES AND COMMUNICATIONS
Senator Ben Hueso, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular
Bill No: AJR 28 Hearing Date: 6/13/2016
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|Author: |Obernolte |
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|Version: |5/27/2016 As Amended |
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|Urgency: | |Fiscal: |No |
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|Consultant:|Jay Dickenson, Genesis Tang |
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SUBJECT: Daylight saving time
DIGEST: This bill urges the Congress of the United States and
the President of the United States to enact legislation that
would allow a state to adopt daylight saving time (DST) year
round.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Federal law establishes the standard time of the United States
for each of nine zones and advances the standard time of each
zone by one hour during the period commencing at 2:00 a.m. on
the second Sunday of March of each year and ending at 2:00
a.m. on the first Sunday of November of each year.
2)The DST Act provides that the standard time within California
is that which is known, described, and designated by federal
law as United States Standard Pacific Time.
3)Requires, from 1:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of April, until
2:00 a.m. on the last Sunday of October, the standard time
within the state to be one hour in advance of United States
Standard Pacific Time.
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This bill urges the Congress of the United States and the
President of the United States to enact legislation that would
allow a state to adopt DST year round considering that, the
Uniform Time Act (1966) allows states to choose to remain on
standard time, but does not provide the states the option to
stay on daylight saving time.
Background
Benjamin Franklin (1784) is credited with the basic idea of DST
after observing that people were sleeping during sunlit hours in
the early morning and burning candles for illumination in the
evening. However, DST didn't "officially" begin in the U.S.
until World War I (1918), when it was enacted primarily to
extend the length of the production day and save fuel by
reducing the need to use artificial lighting.
Although some states and communities observed daylight saving
time after the war ended, DST wasn't officially observed
nationally again until 1942, when it was re-enacted for World
War II, then repealed after the war in 1945.
From 1945 to 1966, there was no federal law regarding DST, so
states and localities were free to choose whether to observe DST
and could choose when it began and ended. This understandably
caused confusion, especially for the broadcasting industry, as
well as for railways, airlines, and bus companies.<1>
The Daylight Saving Time Act. California voters passed
Proposition 12 in 1949, approving DST in the state and that the
standard time within the state is that which is known,
described, and designated by federal law as United States
Standard Pacific Time.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966. This federal act established a
standardized system of operating DST throughout the U.S. and its
territories, exempting only states and territories that enacted
laws to keep their entire state or territory on standard time.
Most states opted for a coordinated daylight saving time.
However, the Uniform Time Act allows states to choose to remain
only on standard time as an alternative but does not provide
states the option to remain on DST.
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<1> "Daylight Savings Time". WebExhibits.
http://www.webexhibits.org/daylightsaving/e.html
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In 1972, Congress revised the law to provide that, if a state
was in two or more time zones, the state could exempt the part
of the state that was in one time zone while providing that the
part of the state in a different time zone would observe DST.
The federal law was amended in 1986 to begin DST on the first
Sunday in April.<2>
Energy Policy Act of 2005. This federal act extended DST in the
U.S. by three weeks in the spring and one week in the fall,
beginning on March 11, 2007, in the hope that the extension
would save energy. Since then, California has begun DST at 2:00
a.m. on the second Sunday of March and ended at 2:00 a.m. on the
first Sunday of November. Should Congress enact legislation
that allows a state to adopt DST year round, the change would
have to be approved by California voters.
Findings:
Today, the Uniform Time Act provides that either
Congress or the Secretary of Transportation can change a
time-zone boundary.<3>
DST is currently practiced in 76 countries and directly
affects more than 1.6 billion people worldwide.<4>
States and territories in the United States that do not
observe DST include: most of Arizona, Hawaii, American
Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
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<2> "Daylight Savings Time"
<3> US Department of Transportation
<4> Matthew J. Kotchen and Laura E. Grant, "Does Daylight Saving
Time Save Energy? Evidence form a Natural Experiment in
Indiana". The National Bureau of Economic Research.
http://www.nber.org/papers/w14429
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Some parts of Indiana did not observe daylight saving
time in the past.
According to a national telephone survey of 1,000 adults
conducted March 5-6, 2014, by Rasmussen Reports concluded
that only 33 percent of American adults think DST is worth
the hassle. 48 percent do not think the clock changing
ritual is worth it, but 19 percent are not sure.
Estimates of DST effects. The California Energy Commission (CEC)
conducted a research on DST, which it published in 2007, that
examined whether and how much the Policy Act of 2005 changed
daily electricity. The extension of DST to March 2007 had little
or no effect on energy consumption in California, according to
CEC. The most likely approximation is a 0.2 percent decrease
during these three weeks.
In 2008 a study was published by the National Bureau of Economic
Research, who studied energy use in Indiana. The experiment in
the state of Indiana provided the first empirical estimates of
DST effects on electricity consumption in the United States
since the mid-1970s focusing on residential electricity demand.
The main finding, contrary to the policy's intent: DST
increases residential electricity demand. An estimate of the
overall increase is approximately one percent. DST causes the
greatest increase in electricity consumption in the fall, when
estimates range between two and four percent.
Potential cost in California. According to a 2008 study by the
National Bureau of Economic Research, Indiana households pay an
additional $9 million per year in energy bills. Also, the study
estimated a social cost of increased pollution emissions that
range from $1.7 million to $5.5 million per year. The study
concluded that the effect is likely to be even stronger in other
regions of the United States.
Another Step Away From Uniformity. The purpose of the Uniform
Time Act of 1966 was to put states on a relatively uniform time
schedule within their specific times zones. Granted, the fact
that Hawaii, most of Arizona, and the eastern portion of Indiana
have exercised the option under the Uniform Time Act not to move
to DST during the summer means that states already aren't
operating on a uniform time system. However, this proposal, if
AJR 28 (Obernolte) PageE of?
enacted by the federal government, gives states the option to
move even further away from the notion of a uniform time system
by going to DST on a year-round basis.
Intended benefits. Reports indicate that in regions with a
temperate climate, DST results in energy savings and year-round
DST could increase these savings as well as industrial
efficiency. Additionally, extra daylight in the evening hours
could provide a boost to the tourism and shopping industries.<5>
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine National
Institutes of Health, studies have connected DST with a
reduction in pedestrian and driver fatalities, as well as a
decrease in robberies.
Unintended consequences. Seniors may be among the most affected
by DST since it can result in confusion for seniors who forget
about time change. Also giving up an hour of sleep can have more
impact on one's physical condition, regardless of age.
According to research presented at the American College of
Cardiology's 63rd Annual Scientific Session it seems moving the
clock forward or backward may alter the timing of when heart
attacks occur in the week following these time changes.
Final thoughts. Studies have shown ongoing debate about whether
DST is needed anymore. Widely implemented during World War I, it
was primarily adopted to save energy. Some experts question
whether it saves energy and if it has negative health effects
beyond just leaving people feeling groggy and out of sorts.<6>
Prior/Related Legislation
AB 385 (Chu, 2015) repeals the Daylight Saving Time Act, and
requires the standard time within the state to be designated by
federal law as Pacific standard time. The bill is under
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<5> American College of Cardiology. "Daylight saving impacts
timing of heart attacks." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 March
2014. .
<6> American College of Cardiology. "Daylight saving impacts
timing of heart attacks." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 29 March
2014. .
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consideration by this committee.
AB 2496 (Chu, 2016) declares the intent of the Legislature to
enact legislation to establish United States Standard Pacific
Time as the standard time within the state during the entire
year. The bill is pending referral at the Assembly desk.
AJR 56 (Longville, Chapter 127, Statutes of 2000) memorialized
the President and the Congress to enact legislation to allow
states the opportunity to choose year-round daylight saving
time, in addition to standard time or the current system of
"traditional" daylight saving time.
SJRX2 1 (Karnette, Chapter 1, Statutes of 2001) memorialized the
Congress to approve legislation that allows a state to uniformly
apply daylight saving time year round.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: Fiscal Com.:
No Local:
SUPPORT:
None received
OPPOSITION:
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: According to the author:
Switching our clocks to observe daylight saving time twice a
year is an outdated practice that is hazardous to our health and
well-being and it is time to end it. While opting to stay on
standard time year round is one solution to this problem, there
are number of advantages to staying on permanent daylight saving
time that make it a more attractive option. Permanent daylight
saving time would result in a reduction in traffic accidents and
robberies, offer net energy savings and could potentially
provide a great boost to the tourism industry and local
businesses. Ultimately, it should be up to the voters to decide
whether or not to observe permanent daylight saving time.
However, under federal law, states only have the option of
opting for standard time. ACR 28 would urge Congress to enact
legislation to allow states to observe daylight saving time
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permanently and give the voters the power to decide.
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