There are many good arguments to be made for ending Daylight Saving Time (DST).
The biggest one: There's no real reason to do it.
DST became a fixture in the United States during World War II, and started in part to save energy, according to SF Gate. Over time, however, we've learned that changing the clocks back and forth every year can actually increase energy consumption.
The whole process is also really obnoxious and can ruin your sleep and relationships.
Bills introduced in the Oregon Senate would give voters there an opportunity to put an end to DST, according to KOMO. It they pass, Oregon would follow Hawaii and Arizona as the only states that don't follow the time change.
One of the bills, Senate Bill 99, would ask voters in the 2016 election whether they want to ditch the archaic practice. That law would go into effect in 2021, giving businesses time to prepare. Another bill, sponsored by Republican Sen. Brian Boquist of Dallas, would make the change immediately.
Washington introduced a similar bill this year, which would put the state on Pacific Standard Time year-round. KATU reports:
"What I'm suggesting is that we save time by simplifying our lives," state Washington Rep. Elizabeth Scott.
She said the bill to drop daylight saving time would reduce heart attacks, car wrecks and work accidents found to increase with the sleep-schedule disruptions. Farmers she checked with already run their combines at night using aircraft-scale headlights, and dairy cattle care about the sun, not the time on the clock face.
But if only one state or the other decides to ditch daylight saving time, that could make a mess for commuters, and there are thousands of them, that go back and forth between Oregon and Washington everyday.
The main argument against such a bill? Dropping DST could have a negative effect on interstate commutes, business and economic ties, KOMO reports. That said, bills to rid Oregon of DST have come up before, and they usually die in committee, according to KATU.
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