SAN ANTONIO – San Antonio lawmakers say it’s time for Texas to get with the times and decide between either central standard or daylight saving time.
State Sen. Jose Menendez has filed Senate Bill 190 and Rep. Lyle Larson filed House Bill 49, both of which seek to do away with the daylight saving switch practice.
Menendez said it’s an antiquated effort that no longer serves a purpose and hurts Texans.
“Right at the week following the switch, fatal accidents go up by 6 percent, productivity drops, children have a difficult time getting up,” he said. “It’s an unnecessary thing.”
Menendez said it doesn’t matter if Texas “springs forward” or “falls back” as long as the switch becomes permanent.
“The issue is not the inconvenience, it’s the physical toll it takes on people,” he said.
Tiffany Martinez said she doesn’t like the loss of sleep, but she’s not sold on doing away with daylight saving time completely.
“I think [lawmakers] would need to do a little more research into it, because I feel like they need to know the effects of it,” she said.
A KSAT Facebook poll showed 78 percent out of more than 2,000 voters surveyed want to get rid of daylight saving time.
Menendez said past efforts to pass similar bills have not succeeded because more important issues have taken center stage.
Both bills have been left pending in committee this legislative session. Both Arizona and Hawaii have passed laws exempting them from the daylight saving time practice.