Bill to study daylight saving time moves forward

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Less than a week after Utahns turned their clocks ahead an hour, the Senate gave final passage to HB197, a bill that would create a one-time meeting to study the effects of daylight saving time in the state and invite the public to discuss the impact of the time change.

After a string of late nights in the last week of the legislative session in addition to losing an hour of sleep from daylight saving, lawmakers were enthusiastic about the prospect of getting rid of daylight saving in the state.

"I can't wait to have this dialogue," said Sen. Aaron Osmond, R-South Jordan. He said he received an "overwhelming response" from constituents on the elimination of daylight saving time; they had expressed difficulties with sleep and family happiness. "I received request after request after request to end this thing called daylight saving time."

While the bill does not attempt to eliminate the time change, it would open the conversation and allow the public to share their experiences and opinions on the issue.

"We might learn something that will help us in the future," said Senate sponsor Steve Urquhart, R-St. George.

Amy McDonald