Daylight Saving Time bill passes Utah Legislature, heads to Gov. Herbert
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — The fate of Daylight Saving Time in Utah now rests in the hand and pen of Gov. Gary Herbert.
Senate Bill 59 previously passed the Utah State Senate with a 25-2 vote and Wednesday was passed in the House, so now heads to Herbert for a signature or a veto. If it becomes law, "springing forward" and "falling back" with the clock and seasons would come to a close in Utah.
The proposal would place Utah on year-round mountain daylight time and has also been proposed in national legislation by Utah's Rep. Rob Bishop.
Nationwide, daylight saving time began 100 years ago during World War I as an energy-saver. By moving the clocks ahead an hour, backers believed the country could divert a bit of coal-fired electricity to the military instead of using it for an hour of home power.
By 1966, airlines and other clock-watching businesses tired of such quirks and pushed Congress to pass the Uniform Time Act. It codified daylight saving time, although it has been periodically modified, particularly start and end dates. The only states not observing daylight time are Hawaii and Arizona.
Bishop introduced The Daylight Act that empowers states to decide if they "will continue under the status quo, operate year-round under daylight saving time, or operate year-round under standard time."
