wa-law.org > bill > 2023-24 > SB 5795 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that the state of Washington would benefit from the consistency and predictability of observing Pacific standard time throughout the calendar year. Research has shown that changing to and from daylight saving time twice per year has negative impacts on public health, increases traffic accidents and crime, disrupts agriculture scheduling, and hinders economic growth. Scientific studies have connected a number of health consequences with the act of switching between standard time and daylight saving time, including greater risks of heart attacks, more frequent workplace injuries, and increased suicide rates in the days immediately after the switch. The legislature passed Substitute House Bill No. 1196 in 2019 authorizing the state to observe daylight saving time year-round if authorized by the United States congress. However, congress has not amended federal law to authorize states to observe daylight saving time year-round. Therefore, the legislature intends to exercise the rights granted under the uniform time act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 260a(a), and exempt the state of Washington from daylight saving time and remain standard time year-round.
The time of the state of Washington and all of its political subdivisions shall be Pacific standard time throughout the calendar year, as determined by reference to coordinated universal time.
No county, city, or other political subdivision of this state shall adopt any provision for the observance of daylight saving time, or any time other than standard, except pursuant to a gubernatorial proclamation declaring an emergency during a period of national war and authorizing such adoption. This section shall not apply to orders made by federal authorities in a local area entirely under federal control.
This act takes effect November 4, 2024.