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No More Changing the Clock? Hudson Republican Proposes Bill to End Time Changes

Portage Lakes Clock Tower
TIM RUDELL
/
WKSU
Sen. Kristina Roegner of Hudson has introduced the Ohio Sunshine Protection Act, which would end the spring and fall rituals of moving clocks forward or back one hour.

A state lawmaker wants this to be the last year Ohioans spring forward and fall back. The plan would be to go to Daylight Saving Time year-round.

Sen. Kristina Roegner (R-Hudson) said right after the time change March 10, she asked her Facebook friends if Ohio should stop changing clocks twice a year.

“I have never had so many comments so fast on anything,” she said.

Roegner said she has found a study that said the time change increased energy use, though the idea was instituted to save energy, and another showed losing the hour in the spring disrupts sleep and work. She said Ohio would still have to get federal permission, though President Donald Trump has tweeted support for the idea.

“I think the more states that step up and say, 'Hey, we want to protect our sunshine,' I’m optimistic that these time change acrobatics will come to an end,” she said.

Florida has passed a similar law. Roegner’s Ohio Sunshine Protection Act gets its first hearing on Wednesday.