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Permanent Daylight Saving bill sails through legislature

Posted at 7:50 PM, Feb 26, 2020
and last updated 2020-02-26 21:50:06-05

An issue that has tied the legislature in knots for more than a decade — a bill to stop the bi-annual ritual of changing clocks — sailed through the Utah Legislature with a debate that was downright giddy.

Senate Bill 59 would make Daylight Saving Time permanent so long as Congress OKs the move and four other Western states approve the same change.

In the House, one representative voted no, and Rep. Joel Briscoe (D-Salt Lake City) said he wasn’t even voting for himself.

“Two words: my wife,” Briscoe said, and then flummoxed the Speaker by saying his vote was a “C.Y.A.,” an acronym not often employed on the floor of the House meaning "cover your [rear end]."

Nevada, Washington and Oregon have already passed similar measures, though Washington and Oregon have made their laws contingent on California following suit.

California voters already granted their legislature the right to make the change.