A bill eligible for debate in the Iowa Senate would set the state on a course that could make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
“It’s a good bill. I’ve had a lot of great feedback about it,” Senator Jeff Reichman, a Republican from Montrose, said.
The Senate State Government Committee has approved a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent all year, but Reichman said that would only happen if the six states that surround Iowa make the same move.
“We couldn’t be an island of Daylight Saving Time in the Midwest here,” Reichman said. “This gives all bordering states 10 years to come on board with this, pass their own legislation.”
Critics of the twice-a-year time change say it disrupts sleep schedules and is actually a temporary damper on the economy. According to the National Conference of State Legislature, bills were introduced last year in 32 states that called for observing Daylight Saving Time year round.