(The Center Square) – A bipartisan effort to “ditch the switch” is returning to Washington state. If approved, the Legislature would implement Pacific Standard Time year-round, ending the practice of daylight saving time.
The state has debated DST for the past few years, with a similar measure proposed by Sen. Mike Padden, R-Spokane Valley, failing to make much progress last January. Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, said he intends to carry the torch alongside Democrat partners with Senate Bill 5001.
State lawmakers passed legislation in 2019 that was supposed to implement DST year-round rather than PST, as Padden and Wilson proposed. However, shifting to DST full-time requires congressional approval, which hasn’t happened yet, leaving the state in anticipation.
Wilson and Senate Majority Leader Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, want to flip the script. If approved, SB 5001 would implement PST year-round, which doesn’t require federal approval, meaning the clocks won’t spring forward each March for another hour of sun in the evening.