Skip to main content

Prop 7: Daylight Saving Could Become Permanent

Support Provided By

                                          This proposition passed.                                          

                                           Encuentra la versión en español aqui

brightcove-5846612190001.jpg
Prop 7 aims to end all that “time-shifting” by making Daylight Saving Time permanent in California. If voters approve Prop 7, the state legislature would still need to pass a bill with two-thirds approval. Then the state would need a green light from the U.S. Congress.
Props in a Minute: Prop 7 - Daylight Saving Time

Sponsored by Sheppard Mullin, a full service, global law firm with 750 attorneys. The firm handles corporate and technology matters, high stakes litigation and complex financial transactions. 

What?

Sets Daylight Saving Time as year round.

Why?

Assemblyman Kansen Chu, who introduced it, suggests that passing Prop 7 will improve sleep and make Californians happier.

Vote Yes

Vote No

Supports Legislature in establishing permanent, year-round daylight saving time in California by a two-thirds vote if federal law permits it. Opposes Legislature in establishing permanent, year-round daylight saving time in California by a two-thirds vote if federal law permits it.

California and Florida already have asked Congress to allow year-round DST, but getting there will require what Gov. Jerry Brown called, "a circuitous path."  The Legislature and Brown had to seek voter approval because the twice-yearly time changes were enacted by popular vote in 1949. If Prop 7 passes, it will "encourage" a two-thirds majority vote in the Legislature for year-round DST, which will still require approval by Congress, plus signatures of the governor and president.

Some opponents of DST find the time changes in March and November disruptive to their sleep and the routine of putting children to bed, and some therefore would be happy with either standard time or DST year-round. The Legislature and Brown had to seek voter approval because the twice-yearly time changes were enacted by popular vote in 1949. California could have year-round standard time, like Arizona does, without congressional approval. Other opposing DST include farmers and traffic safety advocates, who note that it delays winter sunrise time enough that children walk to school in the dark in December.

The Legislature voted by large majorities to refer the ballot issue to voters. There have been no fundraising campaigns for or against the measure. If Prop 7 passes but Congress lacks the interest, will or time to go along with it, nothing changes. Or, one commentator noted, the theoretical (probably farfetched) end result of repealing statewide time changes could be three time zones in California, with year-round DST, part-year DST and year-round standard time in different regions. 

Click here for a printable version of all the propositions on the November ballot.

                                                                           No Campaign Contributions Made

Support Provided By
Read More
A row of cows stands in individual cages along a line of light-colored enclosures, placed along a dirt path under a blue sky dotted with white puffy clouds.

A Battle Is Underway Over California’s Lucrative Dairy Biogas Market

California is considering changes to a program that has incentivized dairy biogas, to transform methane emissions into a source of natural gas. Neighbors are pushing for an end to the subsidies because of its impact on air quality and possible water pollution.
A Black woman with long, black brains wears a black Chicago Bulls windbreaker jacket with red and white stripes as she stands at the top of a short staircase in a housing complex and rests her left hand on the metal railing. She smiles slightly while looking directly at the camera.

Los Angeles County Is Testing AI's Ability To Prevent Homelessness

In order to prevent people from becoming homeless before it happens, Los Angeles County officials are using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict who in the county is most likely to lose their housing. They would then step in to help those people with their rent, utility bills, car payments and more so they don't become unhoused.
blue themed graphic including electric vehicles are charging stations, wind turbines and trees, 2023 in reference to year

A Look Back at Climate Solutions In 2023

The U.S. may have a long way to go in its decarbonization goals, but these stories show signs of progress in climate solutions.