As time change nears, Nevada considers opting out of daylight savings
Citing a study that suggests cardiac arrest incidents spike on the Monday following the time change, Democratic Assem. Selena La Rue Hatch is sponsoring Assembly Bill 81 (AB81). Heart attacks aren't the only reason it's an issue that's gaining national attention.
Representatives hear about it often from constituents who don't see the point, and even President Donald Trump has supported the end of daylight saving time.
'These are not just folks that are upset about losing an hour of sleep or having to change their clocks,' La Rue Hatch said Monday as she presented the 'lock the clock' act to the Assembly Government Affairs Committee. She said Democrats and Republicans alike are on board.
'There are documented negative health effects that come from observing daylight savings time and changing our clocks twice a year. We know that in the weeks following the clock change there are worsened health impacts. Strokes, heart attacks go up, digestive issues increase, medical outcomes are worsened. And in fact, many health organizations endorse permanent standard time as being more natural, more in line with our circadian rhythm and healthier for our bodies,' La Rue Hatch said.
The bill wouldn't stop daylight saving time from coming on Sunday, March 9, 2025, but when Nevada 'falls back' to standard time on Nov. 2, the state would remain on permanent standard time.
There's national support to go permanently to daylight saving time, but federal law prohibits that. States are only allowed to opt out of daylight saving time. Several states are already fighting that fight.
La Rue Hatch cited a Michigan study that found a 24% increase in cardiac events on the Monday following the time change. But there's a separate study by the Mayo Clinic that shows only minimal effects across a sample of more than 36 million people.
End to daylight saving time among bills for 2025 Nevada Legislature
She also cited mental health impacts — anxiety and depression. And while she sees that as a teacher, La Rue Hatch said it's also a factor on the job and on the roads, where car crashes increase.
'We have measurable productivity decreases when we change the clocks,' she said.
Nevada wouldn't be the first state to opt out. Arizona did it in 1968 and Hawaii did it in 1967. There's a growing chorus in support of the change in California, Oregon and Idaho. Utah is one of the states fighting to go to daylight saving time permanently.
If a patchwork of states make the change, it could confuse travelers who already have trouble keeping track of time zones. Those time zones don't adhere to straight lines on a map.
Nevada is on Pacific Time along with California, Washington, most of Oregon and northern Idaho. Neighboring Utah and Arizona are on Mountain time, one hour earlier, along with Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, portions of five other states — and one county in eastern Oregon.
When Arizona remains on standard time and Nevada observes daylight time, the clocks in the two states are the same.
La Rue Hatch said old reasoning that the time change helped farmers and ranchers really isn't a factor these days.
'As someone who grew up on a ranch, let me tell you, the cows are getting up at the same time, no matter what the clock says,' she said.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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