2.24.25 – KOKH
State Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore, is once again looking to stop Oklahoma from changing the clock twice a year.
This is not the first time West has tried to lock the clocks on Standard Time, but he tells FOX 25 he hopes this is the year it passes.
Last legislative session the Oklahoma legislature passed a trigger bill to adopt Daylight Saving Time in Oklahoma should federal law ever authorize states to observe Daylight Saving Time year-round.
West is looking to repeal that and thinks locking the clock on Standard Time would be better.
“I did notice that you took out the portion that says if the federal,” said Eric Roberts R-OKC, Chairman of the House General Government Committee.
“Yes, thank you for that, and that’s what we passed last year and that was my whole point last year when it comes to the time, we have two choices. We either change the clocks twice a year like we currently do, or we can go to Standard Time,” West responded.
West told FOX 25 most Oklahomans don’t like time change.
“The federal law, the Uniform Time Act, is written so that states can opt out of Daylight Saving Time but you cannot opt out of Standard Time,” he said. “So, Hawaii, Arizona, pretty much all of the U.S. territories stay on Standard Time year-round and that’s what this would seek to do.”
He explained the benefits he sees in adopting Standard Time year-round.
“I do believe that it is closer aligned to our normal time, how our bodies are aligned with the sun and everything. Plus…. I know that the time change is very disruptive. Especially when we go to Daylight Saving Time in the spring, it usually takes most people a couple of weeks to fully adjust,” West said.
The bill advanced out of the committee in a 5 to 1 vote. Chairman Roberts was the only one to vote no.