Wyoming Would Not Act Alone To End Time Change Under Bill

A bill that could eventually lead to Wyoming doing away with changing its clocks twice a year would only take effect if three surrounding states take similar action.

House Bill 14, sponsored by Rep. Dan Laursen [R-Park County], passed the Wyoming House on Monday by a 35-23 vote. It is now headed to the Wyoming Senate.

The legislation would mandate that if at least three states around Wyoming decide to go to Mountain Daylight Saving Time year-round, Wyoming would ask the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to do so as well.

One of the major arguments that opponents of Wyoming legislative bills calling for the elimination of the time changes have used in past legislative sessions is that it would handicap Wyoming businesses by putting them on a different schedule than businesses in surrounding states.

Supporters of the current time changes have also claimed that they "help farmers" and that people have gotten used to them and want to keep the tradition.

Opponents of time changes point to increased accident rates when the clocks change and say the practice disrupts people's sleep patterns for no valid reason except adherence to an outdated practice.