‘Texas Time’ Could Replace Standard Time Soon

For several years, we've constantly heard politicians in Texas kick around the idea of either doing away with daylight saving time or making it permanent. This year, the Texas legislature finally put their votes where their mouths are.

A bill that has passed both the Texas House and Senate is on its way to the governor's desk. It makes daylight saving time permanent and creates our very own "Texas Time."

What Is HB1393?

The bill, House Bill 1393, lays it out simply. Texans will no longer be forced to set clocks forward or backward, or try to cope with changing sleep patterns.

The Lone Star State will keep daylight saving time year-round. It's an interesting decision by lawmakers to choose DST over standard time, but we'll get into that in a bit.

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The bill applies to areas of Texas currently using Central and Mountain Standard Time. The bill renames the standard time in Texas, Texas Time.

Why End Clock Changes?

Over the years, there have been plenty of studies done, and there have been plenty of experts who have spoken on the problems with switching clocks twice a year. Everything from heart problems to lost productivity has been linked in one way or another to the time changes.

So, it's easy to see why so many people would be excited to see this bill become law. All it needs now is Governor Abbott's signature.

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There is one hiccup, though. Texas can't just decide to keep daylight saving time. The federal government has to create a law that allows Texas to keep daylight saving time year-round.

What Happens Next?

House Bill 1393 is simply a "trigger law." What that means is that nothing will change until the U.S. Congress passes legislation allowing states to switch to year-round daylight saving time.

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Once that happens, it will "trigger" our state law to go into effect.

When Would the Change Happen?

So, even if the Governor signs this bill into law, we'll still have to wait. It almost feels like much ado about nothing. Not until this issue becomes important enough for our representatives and senators in Washington to do something about it.