Nevada lawmakers urge Congress to allow state to stay on daylight savings time
CARSON CITY — Springing ahead and falling back may be history in Nevada if Congress listens to the state Legislature.
The Nevada Senate on Monday approved Assembly Joint Resolution 4 on a vote of 12-8. It urges Congress to let Nevada set its clocks once and for all to daylight saving time and keep them there.
Assemblyman Chris Edwards, R-Las Vegas, said the permanent leap would bring an extra hour of light to winter evenings, while keeping the extra hour of daylight in summer that people enjoy.
If Congress gives its permission, then the Nevada Legislature in 2017 could complete the time change.
In earlier testimony before legislative committees, Edwards said changing clocks forward in the spring and back in the fall causes a number of problems, from disrupting sleep schedules to contributing to an increase in heart attacks for seniors and more auto accidents.
Moving Nevada permanently into daylight saving time would mean an hour’s time difference with California for several months in winter.
But Assemblyman Derek Armstrong, R-Henderson, said that could prove beneficial to Nevada’s tourism industry. He theorized travelers returning to California from a trip to Las Vegas might decide to spend an extra night in Sin City if they know they have an extra hour to get home the next morning.
Contact Sandra Chereb at schereb@reviewjournal.com or 775-687-3901. Find her on Twitter: @SandraChereb.
