Missouri House panel considers eliminating daylight savings

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Lawmakers questioned the effect putting Missouri on a different time than surrounding states would have during a House committee hearing on a proposal to end the annual ritual of switching clocks an hour forward and then back again.

Rep. Mike Kelley, R-Lamar, is sponsoring a constitutional amendment that would ask voters whether Missouri should use daylight saving time all the time. Under the measure, Missouri residents would switch to daylight saving time in March 2017 and never again turn their clocks back.

He said Missouri should lead the way in eliminating daylight savings, but some members of the House Government Efficiency Committee said they were concerned about negative effects on businesses and increased difficulty in scheduling meetings.

Rep. Sheila Solon, R-Blue Springs, said she would rather wait for most other states to eliminate daylight savings rather than have Missouri take the lead. She said it may create a competitive disadvantage for companies, especially those that do business across state lines, such as in the Kansas City area.

"I think this would definitely put us on a disadvantage if we weren't on the same time zone," Solon said.

But Kelley said Missouri businesses already operate globally, and other countries do not follow daylight saving time. He said springing forward and falling back each year is an "archaic" ritual that has proven negative effects on health and safety.

Research has shown increases in traffic accidents, workplace accidents and heart attacks after the switch to daylight saving time.

Arizona, Hawaii and most U.S. territories do not observe daylight saving time. Another Midwestern state, Indiana, ignored daylight saving time for decades until lawmakers approved it, and the state began moving clocks forward in 2005. Kelley said he thinks other states would follow Missouri's example.

"I think you'll see this mass exodus," he said.

The committee did not vote on the bill.