Nebraska Senator Tom Briese presented legislation at Wednesday morning’s Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs committee that would provide for year-round daylight-saving time. Briese pointed to a large majority of the population who support the idea and gave numerous reasons as to why they do.
Citing “Facebook polls conducted by local media” and what “[his] office has received,” Briese claimed that as much as 85% of the state is in favor of year-round daylight-saving time.
There are many reasons why so many people are allegedly getting behind the idea of no longer changing their clocks twice a year. Parents say it makes it harder to get their children ready for school in the morning. Briese also testified on behalf of those with epilepsy and parents of kids with the condition who say that it dramatically complicates the timing of medication.
“Hard scientific data from medical research says the practice actually costs lives,” said Briese. This is because studies that the senator brought with him to the hearing say that those who experience seizures have an increased number of them in the week following a time change.
Heart attacks go up, too. One study Briese alluded to concluded that heart attacks increase by 24 percent on the Monday following the beginning or conclusion of daylight-saving time. The senator additionally mentioned similar numbers for strokes, fatal car accidents, and workplace injuries in the days after a time change.
These increased medical issues result in the state losing money. “A 2012 study … showed a substantial decrease in worker activity and an increase in idle time in the mornings of the days following the time change,” said Briese. “Between medical costs, sick days from heart attacks, strokes, and car accidents, lost work days from workplace injuries, and simple decreased efficiency at work, the costs do begin to add up.”
The bill, however, will need to overcome some hurdles in order to pass. First, it must be voted on by the Legislature. It also needs a few things to happen on a Federal and national level. The federal government must allow states to make that change three of Nebraska’s neighboring states must pass similar bills. Currently, two Nebraska neighbors, Wyoming and Colorado, have passed the necessary resolutions.