19-02-2025
Utah's time change bill hits roadblock on Senate Committee
SALT LAKE CITY () — A Utah bill that would has come to a grinding halt on Wednesday.
H.B. 120 – otherwise known as '' – was brought before the Senate Business and Labor Committee, which voted 7-1 to table the bill indefinitely. This means, for the time being, Utahns can still expect to adjust their clocks forward and back an hour twice a year.
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The bill was originally introduced by Rep. Joseph Elison (R-Hurricane) and co-sponsored by Sen. Dan McCay (R-Riverton). Under H.B. 120, Utah would permanently adopt Mountain Standard Time as its time of choice until the federal government allows for permanent daylight time – which Utah would then adopt.
Utah has already passed a bill that would see the state switch to permanent Daylight Saving Time should enough surrounding states agree to the change and the federal government allow it. The surrounding state threshold has been met, meaning Utah is only waiting for permission from the federal government.
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H.B. 120 unanimously passed through the House Government Operations Committee before earning the House's approval behind a 52 to 23 vote. However, Senate lawmakers seemed to prefer letting the federal government make the final decision.
'I do think when we make this change, we should do it with some other states,' explained Sen. Todd Weiler (R-Woods Cross). 'We are a peculiar people, but I don't know that we want to be extra peculiar with our international airport and our surrounding states by standing out with a different timezone.'
Sen. Scott Sandall (R-Brigham City) said the time change would also put Utah on a different time than Idaho for eight months of the year, complicating interstate commerce for his constituents in Box Elder County.
Rep. Elison, however, argued that his bill is the only opportunity Utah has to stop changing the clocks now – something Hawaii and Arizona have already done.
'Bottom line is we can let this thing die, which it sounds like it will, or we can punt the ball to the federal government and hope that they take the lead,' said Rep. Elison. 'I'd rather take the lead in Utah personally, but I'm OK with the will of the body.'
The Senate Business and Labor Committee's decision to table the bill makes it unlikely lawmakers will take up the issue again this year. This means it is effectively back in the hands of the federal government to decide whether or not to end the clock change and what time we'd observe moving forward.
Yeonseung Kim contributed to this report.
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