Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Time Policy Standard Time topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Witness Urges Committee to Oppose Bill Advancing Year‑Round Daylight Time
Summary
A Safe Standard Time board member told the Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee that year‑round standard time is healthier and safer than permanent daylight saving time and asked lawmakers not to advance SCR 6.
The Senate Government Oversight and Reform Committee heard opponent testimony Tuesday on Senate Concurrent Resolution 6, a proposal related to year‑round observance of clock time.
Michael Gerahan, a board member of Safe Standard Time, told the committee he opposes SCR 6 because shifting the clock ahead year round would reduce morning light and harm circadian rhythms. “The morning light helps us wake up. The evening darkness helps us go to sleep,” Gerahan said, and he cited research linking disrupted circadian signals with increased risk of chronic conditions and fatal accidents.
Gerahan told the committee that organizations including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the American Medical Association recommend standard time year round and that taking away morning light would be particularly harmful to adolescents, who need morning light exposure for school performance. He also noted historical experience with year‑round daylight time in the 1970s, when public opinion pushed Congress to revert after a winter trial produced dark morning conditions.
Gerahan warned that the federal Sunshine Protection Act, as drafted in Congress, could remove a state’s ability to choose year‑round standard time. He asked the committee not to advance SCR 6 and to “keep a fair share of light in the morning.”
Vice Chair Brenner asked Gerahan to supply the studies he referenced; Gerahan said he would email them to the committee clerk for distribution. The committee concluded the second hearing on SCR 6 with no recorded vote.
