Nebraskans will continue to ‘spring forward’ and ‘fall back’ after lawmakers on Monday failed to advance a bill to move to permanent daylight saving time. An amendment to adopt permanent standard time was also shot down.
State Senator Fred Meyer of St. Paul wants the current system left alone. “If only things in our daily lives were as simple as changing our clocks twice a year. There’s much bigger issues than changing clocks. I think this issue is much ado about nothing.”
Senator Robert Clemens of Elmwood he does appreciate daylight saving time in the summer time for kids activities but opposed the change. “I prefer to leave things they way they are. We’ve been doing this for 50 years now and I think it’s been a good system.”
Senator Steve Erdman brought forth the amendment calling for permanent standard time. He says it aligned best with natural sleep patterns. He said adopting permanent daylight saving time was the worst option and would have meant that half of the state would have sunrises after 8 a.m. on more than 100 days a year. His amendment failed on a 25-19 vote.
Arizona and Hawaii have permanent standard time and at least 19 states have approved legislation that would switch to permanent daylight saving time as long as Congress approves.