'Lock the Clock' bill would put Nevada on permanent standard time; lawmakers hear health and safety testimony

Assemblymember Selena LaRue Hatch presented Assembly Bill 81, known as the "Lock the Clock" Act, to the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs, asking lawmakers to exempt Nevada from federal daylight‑saving time requirements and adopt permanent standard time.

Hatch said the bill would put Nevada on permanent standard time and that she planned a technical amendment changing the act’s effective date to Jan. 1, 2026 so the state would observe the scheduled clock change this March and then “change the clocks 1 last time in November” and remain on standard time thereafter. “This bill is a way for us to immediately have positive impacts on our public health without us having to spend any money,” Hatch said.

Hatch, who represents Assembly District 25 in West Reno, cited studies and endorsements from medical organizations and said clock changes are associated with increases in heart attacks, strokes, motor‑vehicle crashes and workplace accidents in the weeks after transitions. She said many health organizations endorse permanent standard time as better aligned with circadian rhythms.

Supporters who testified in person and by phone included the Nevada Public Health Association, the Nevada Association for the Education of Young Children and representatives of the national Coalition for Permanent Standard Time. JP Pea, president of the Arizona nonprofit Safe Standard Time, told the committee the bill is “the quickest way possible…and in the safest, healthiest, and most lasting way possible” to stop biannual clock changes.

Public testimony included local voices who said permanent standard time would make early‑morning activity safer for children, pets and commuters in Nevada’s summer heat. One Las Vegas caller said keeping Pacific standard time year‑round would make it safer to walk pets and children during hot summer evenings.

A pediatrician who called in urged caution and recommended a formal statewide study and a stakeholder commission before adopting a permanent change; he cited mixed findings in the literature and said business and public‑safety stakeholders should be consulted.

Committee members asked Hatch about the evidence and about neighboring states. Hatch said numerous medical groups support permanent standard time, that California and Oregon have considered similar measures and that Arizona and Hawaii already observe year‑round standard time. She also said federal law permits states to exempt themselves from daylight‑saving time only by adopting permanent standard time, not permanent daylight‑saving time.

Hatch said the only amendment she was accepting at the hearing would change the implementation date from July 1, 2025 to Jan. 1, 2026. The committee received multiple written exhibits and public testimony in support; no formal committee vote occurred during the hearing.

The committee closed the hearing on AB 81 after testimony and questions.