Daylight savings ban shot down again in Arkansas

By STEVE BRAWNER

Someday Arkansans may no longer have to undergo the twice-a-year ritual of changing their clocks for daylight savings time. When that happens, perhaps they will be able to thank Rep. Stephen Meeks, R-Greenbrier. But for now, the ritual will remain.

On Wednesday, Meeks presented House Bill 1069, which would have required Arkansas to observe standard time year-round, unless Congress permanently enacts daylight savings time. He has presented similar legislation in the past, to no avail.

The House State Agencies-Governmental Affairs Committee said no on a voice vote. 

Meeks was certainly prepared to present his case, and he did so with passion. He called the bill “arguably the most consequential bill that we’re going to look at this session.” That’s because he said the effects of the time change go far beyond the few days this week when Arkansans feel groggy. He said the human body operates according to natural cycles and that the disruption negatively affects them and society. It hurts the economy by making us less productive. The change hurts our health. It affects student achievement because sleep-deprived teenagers don’t do as well in school. 

Elsbeth Fast, a behavioral sleep specialist, said the human body’s circadian rhythm, its internal body clock, is dependent on light exposure. She said Americans get less sleep after daylight savings time kicks in because they get too much sun in the evening and not enough in the morning. The long-lasting misalignment caused by the time change affects cardiovascular health, cognitive performance and mental health, she said.

Daylight savings time began in World War I and then ended once the war did. The United States returned to daylight savings time in World War II and then went back to standard time when the war ended. It became the law of the land in 1966 when Congress passed the Uniform Time Act after a hodgepodge of time changes were occurring across the country. 

The law allowed states to keep full-time standard time. Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, chose that option. Meeks noted that, all these years, Arizona has been surrounded by other states that conform to daylight savings time but has never changed its time schedule. 

“They don’t understand the craziness of this back and forth that we do,” he said.

I’m with Meeks and other Americans who don’t like the back-and-forth time changes. I’d prefer to go one way or the other, and permanent standard time would work best for me. I’m a morning person. I work at home and have the ability to do outside work and activities during the day. None of my three daughters play sports. I drive a school bus. A week-and-a-half ago, I was finally picking up students in the daylight. Now, they’re again standing outside on the side of the road in the dark.

But not everybody has my circumstances or priorities. Rep. R.J. Hawk, R-Bryant, said daylight savings time gives young people a chance to play outside after school, which is important for their health, too. Meeks acknowledged that reality but said it wasn’t worth the tradeoff in lost sleep. Rep. Wayne Long, R-Bradford, said he would have to take care of his farm animals in the dark after work if daylight savings time went away.

There were concerns about going against the flow of the rest of the country. Neal Gladner, executive director of the Arkansas Broadcasters Association, said a time change would wreak havoc on syndicated programming. “NBC Nightly News” would air at 4:30 p.m. There would be confusion around when a Razorback game would start. The prime time TV lineup, which is still a thing, would start at 6 p.m.

The arguments against the move once again proved too strong for the bill to advance. In fact, it didn’t have a chance this year. If a House member’s bill is failing in its first step in a House committee, it’s got a long way to go before it could hope to get through both chambers and arrive at the governor’s desk.

In other words, Arkansans won’t be “locking the clocks” any time soon. Maybe we eventually will. Times change, after all – twice a year for sure, at least for now.

Steve Brawner’s column is syndicated to 17 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com.