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Proposed legislation looks to give registered Texas voters the opportunity to vote on ending the observance of daylight saving time (DST).
According to a press release issued by State Sen. Paul Bettencourt’s (R-Houston) office, the lawmaker filed Senate Bill (SB) 2329 and Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 86 a day before Texans shifted their clocks forward.
Bettencourt explained that with voter approval, the Lone Star State would join Arizona and Hawaii as the only states in the country “to stay on one time” all year long.
At the federal level, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), the release said, filed the "Sunshine Protection Act of 2023” to have all states do away with DST, but the bill has yet to garner congressional approval.
“The issue of daylight saving time has roused passions on both sides of the debate for over 100 years, Bettencourt, who represents most of western Harris County, said, per his office. “Texans, like me, want to be on one time, and the Federal Congress hasn’t given us the option to vote on daylight saving time.”
Fox News reported that Bettencourt’s act could be presented to voters later this year if it passes in the Texas Legislature.
Election Day is on Tuesday, Nov. 7.
“SJR 86 gives Texans the opportunity to vote on the issue and express their opinion on the debate once and for all in the Lone Star State,” Bettencourt said in his release.
According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, surveys conducted by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) show that more than 60% of Americans support the elimination of DST, with 55% saying they experience tiredness after the time transition.
Dr. Adam Spira, a mental health professor at the Baltimore school, said in a press release that the change proves detrimental to physical health.
“The scientific evidence points to acute increases in adverse health consequences from changing the clocks, including in heart attack and stroke,” Spira said.