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Witness Urges Committee to Oppose Permanent Daylight Time; Advocates for Permanent Standard Time
Summary
An out-of-state advocate testifying in person asked the committee to oppose House Concurrent Resolution 10 as written and to pursue permanent standard time instead of permanent daylight saving time, citing sleep, safety and education concerns.
At the second hearing on House Concurrent Resolution 10, an advocate for permanent standard time told the House Government Oversight Committee the resolution as written — which favors permanent daylight saving time — would harm sleep, safety and education and should be amended or replaced.
Jay Pea, president of the nonprofit Safe Standard Time and co-chair of the Coalition for Permanent Standard Time, urged a “no” recommendation on HCR 10 as written and recommended either amending it to make permanent standard time the goal or drafting new legislation to that effect. “Daylight saving time, simply put, is a mandate to wake earlier and to sleep less,” Pea testified. He said the first night after the spring clock change costs an average of 40 minutes of sleep and that over time the switch produces a chronic loss averaging 19 minutes per night.
Pea warned that permanent daylight saving time would push sunrises past 8 a.m. in Ohio for more than four months and as late as 9 a.m. in the state’s northwest corner, which he said would disproportionately harm schoolchildren and people who work outdoors. He noted that permanent daylight time has been tried previously in the state and in the 1970s and produced protests from parents and farmers; Pea described permanent standard time as “the quickest, safest, and healthiest way” to end clock changes.
He cited medical and safety organizations that favor permanent standard time, including the American Academy of Neurology and the National Safety Council, and referenced federal constraints on permanent daylight saving time, saying the Uniform Time Act effectively makes permanent standard time the pre-approved legal path. Pea offered model language and suggested making any state change contingent on neighboring states joining a regional agreement to avoid creating a time-zone island.
Committee members asked clarifying questions about geography and policy precedent; Pea offered additional written material and said his nonprofit would provide suggested language.
