Well, the time has changed again, and once more I’m mainlining coffee to try to adjust.
With that in mind (and in search of non-offensive blog fodder) I’d like to direct the attention of my Gentle Readers to a little-known law: The Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C. §§ 260-64). You can find the text here.
I say “little-known” because it’s fairly obvious that a whole bunch of folks in the Texas Legislature haven’t read it.
As usually happens about twice a year, folks — your Humble Scribe included — get a little cross over the whole hour moving thing, and we’d like to stop that from happening. Which is all well and good, and has my complete approval.
However, the latest effort to end it involves bills allowing the citizens of Texas to decide whether to stay on Daylight Stupid Time year-round, or stay on Standard Time year round.
Here’s where the very-highly-paid legislators initiated intimate contact with the juvenile canine: Under Federal Law you can’t choose to stay on Daylight Stupid Time.
The State legislatures can choose to switch twice a year; or they can choose to stay on Standard Time. There isn’t a third option.
So, any State Law decreeing a stay on Daylight Stupid Time violates Federal law — specifically the Uniform Time Act of 1966 — and is, thus, a non-starter.
Yes, we need to quit switching back-and-forth, but any bill offering a choice between DST and Standard Time is going to get shut down, because we aren’t going to win that one in the Supreme Court, and we have other, more important, fish waiting to fry in that particular venue.
If you’re in Texas, kindly contact your State legislators, insist that we stop bouncing back and forth on times twice a year; and remind them to read the actual Federal law controlling said bouncing so we can actually get it changed.
Ta, ever so.
LawDog
Amen.
Might've been a good idea 80 years ago, amidst a war, with 60% of the country working on a farm. Wasn't there, so I'll suspend judgement.
Now, with <2% thusly employed now, it's just archaic nonsense, and should die quietly, with a legislative pillow held over its face until it stops kicking, never to arise again.
For those still stuck with it, the 11 hr. night shift isn't bad.
But what separates old pros from rookies is making doubly sure not to schedule yourself for the 13 hr. shift next fall.
Hey Lawdog;
Agreed;
They should have left it well enough alone rather than bounce it around 2 times a year. and ditto to what Aesop said.
There's a bill in the house that might be an easy way around it: US HR214 – Daylight Act – allows states to decide to stay on DST, just as they now can decide to stay on Standard Time. There are two bills, one house and one senate, aimed at killing the time changes forever. Something might happen within the next year.
Setting up national DST had nothing to do with farmers. From everything I've been able to read, farmers hate it as much as anyone. It turns out that cows don't wear wristwatches (who'd have thunk?) and don't react to their schedules changing as well as people. They base their lives on the sun. And don't get me started on wheat or corn or other crops. They couldn't care less about clocks.
Small quibble – $45,340 in pay for two years isn't 'very-highly-paid'.
Secondly, depending on where they're putting the law, they may have to offer it to the People of Texas for approval. We've got a weird state constitution thanks to Reconstruction.
"Small quibble – $45,340 in pay for two years isn't 'very-highly-paid'."
If it were for two years, you'd be right — but it's for 140 days. Maximum.
https://house.texas.gov/resources/frequently-asked-questions/#:~:text=The%20Legislature%20of%20the%20State,regular%20session%20is%20140%20days.
Of course there's a third option. I'd love to see see the Federal saber-rattling over choosing to stay on DST. Go ahead, call out the army to go door-to-door and reset everyone's clocks.
This.
It's well past time to tell Congress there are limits to its stupidity.
Fuckit. Tell everyone to use GMPT and adjust the times they wake up and go to work accordingly.
If that means that your dawn is at 1400Z, then work the hours from there. No more confusion as to what time it is.
A soon as I am inaugurated Master of the World, this will happen.
I spent a few years living in Phoenix. Arizona doesn't do DST. When it's 110 degrees in the shade, the last thing you want is more sunlight in the evening.
With Daylight Stupid Time the powers that be have to all indents and porpoises cut the bottom hour off our blanket and stitched it onto the top and convinced many that they have made a longer day. A concept as intelligent sounding as the intentionally wrong words I used in the middle of that scentance. In other words, not very.
I LOATHE DST WITH EVERY SINGLE FIBER OF MY BEING!
Unfortunately, the People’s Republic of Kalipornia gets its panties all tangled up whenever abolishing it is noised about, probably due to the fact that the Critters in Charge want to continue lording it about.
The best time for a Recall election is on DST switchover day, IMHO.
Ulises the yawning from CA
You could choose to give Bill Gates 3.75 billion dollars in tax money to help implement Nazi-style arm tattoo numbers and Soviet-style internal passports, both linked to a PRC/Facebook-style social credit system.
Or you could choose not to do that.
To this day, I am completely baffled as to why Alaska practiced Daylight Savings time. Most of the time it's in effect, it's daylight 24/7!
Here in Utah, the Legislature have officially declared that we'll go Daylight "Saving" Time year round … if … if the US Congress ever approves of it.
I think the Utah Legislature is cowardly. They could end the time-swapping, but they decided to "end" it by passing it off to the US Congress. Disgusting!
Same deal here in Alabama. The legislature has resolved to go to "permanent DST"… if the Feds allow us.
What clause in the US Constitution gives Congress the power to tell the states how to set their clocks?
Sigh…
I grew up in northern Missouri – their state legislature caved to the teacher's unions. We need standard time in the winter so the kiddos don't have to stand at the bus stop in the morning in the dark. But in the summer, go to DST so the sun comes up at 6 and sets at 9 instead of waking the kiddos up at 5 when their room gets light.
Of course I went to a rural school with long bus rides to get there. Sun was up at the bus stop for the 1st half of September and in May so I waited for the bus in the dark anyway.
Personally I'd like US Congress to change to be on DST year round but could live with standard time – as long as they quit switching! My furry alarm clock doesn't understand weekends, let alone time changes.