In the November 2018 election, California voters approved a proposition allowing the Legislature to establish Daylight Saving Time on a permanent basis.

Following the approval of Proposition 7, Assemblymember Kansen Chu (D-San Jose), who has been championing permanent DST for several years, introduced Assembly Bill 7 at the beginning of the new legislative session in December. 

Last week, the Assembly unanimously approved AB 7, which has now moved to the California Senate. 

This bill will make the shift to DST in California permanent subject to the federal government’s approval. Federal law does not allow states to establish year-round DST, which is the reason federal legislation would have to approve the clock change.

Chu introduced legislation in 2016 to make the time shift permanent.

“I am thrilled to see the broad bipartisan support for AB 7,” he said in his press release. “As momentum builds, and 39 other states consider similar proposals, I’m proud to have California leading the way on this issue. In the wake of the passage of Proposition 7, we’re seeing that Californians believe that switching our clocks twice a year no longer makes sense, and science is on our side.”

AB 7 has bipartisan support. Assemblymember Jay Obernolte (R-Big Bear Lake) is one of the bill’s author’s. 

“It’s past time we stop switching our clocks and adopt permanent daylight savings time,” he said. “Research has shown that switching to year-round daylight savings time would reduce electricity use by 1,500 megawatt hours per day (saving California ratepayers over $300 million per year), reduce pedestrian fatalities by 13 percent, and decrease robberies by 7 percent, as well as reducing heart attacks, workplace injuries, and suicide rates.”