The bill drew a smattering of passionate opposition, though, raised by a number of different groups that show just how far-reaching the impacts of a one-hour shift for part of the year could be.<\/p>\n
Their main concern has to do with sunrise times during the winter months. Denver, for instance, would see about two months of the year where the sun would not rise before 8 a.m. and for nearly half of the year wouldn\u2019t see a sunrise before 7 a.m. The number of days with sunsets after 7 p.m. would be virtually unchanged, though there would be more than 50 additional days with a sunset after 6 p.m.<\/p>\n
The Colorado Broadcasters Association opposed the measure, worried about how a switch to daylight time during the winter months would impact the morning programming of AM radio stations, whose transmission signals are not allowed to travel as far in the dark.<\/p>\n
During a committee hearing earlier this month, Alec Creighton, who owns several radio stations in northeast Colorado, said a later sunrise in the winter would mean fewer farmers and ranchers in the region could tune into his AM station\u2019s morning market reports.<\/p>\n
The Colorado PTA also opposed the bill, concerned about the impact it would have on kids waking up and heading off to school in the dark during the winter.<\/p>\n
A lobbyist for Colorado Ski Country USA expressed concern that the bill would create \u201ccompetitive disadvantages\u201d for Colorado ski areas if other ski states weren\u2019t also on permanent daylight time \u2013 hence the amendment passed during the bill\u2019s first committee hearing requiring four other Mountain time states to also make the switch, which nullified ski areas\u2019 opposition. Resorts say later sunrise times would push back when they can begin crucial preparations for the day, like avalanche mitigation work, and could lead to later opening times.<\/p>\n
Sleep experts, including a sleep science professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, say being on daylight saving time in the winter would mess with circadian rhythms, likely resulting in people going to bed later and waking up without getting adequate rest. That, they argue, would lead to worse physical and mental health, possibly increasing rates of depression, substance abuse and obesity.<\/p>\n \u201cWe need that morning light for our mood, for our alertness,\u201d Jay Pea, the founder of a nationwide group called Save Standard Time, testified during one of the bill\u2019s committee hearings. \u201cIt prevents depression. It wakes us up in the morning. We don\u2019t adapt (without it).\u201d<\/p>\n Opponents also note that we\u2019ve been down this road before. The U.S. switched to permanent daylight saving time for one year in 1974. After initial public enthusiasm, support cratered during the winter, and Congress reversed the decision. A supporter of Colorado\u2019s bill argued during one committee hearing that short notice for the change contributed to its downfall.<\/p>\n There has been growing momentum across the country for a switch to permanent daylight time. So, while the bill will essentially sit dormant once Polis signs it, it could jump into effect fairly quickly.<\/p>\n According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Montana, Utah and Wyoming have all passed bills to switch to full-time daylight time when Congress OKs it. That means only one more state in the Mountain time zone needs to sign on to satisfy one of the Colorado bill\u2019s requirements.<\/p>\n Idaho has also passed a permanent daylight saving time bill \u2013 but only for the northern parts of the state in the Pacific time zone. Arizona is on full-time standard time.<\/p>\n So, for the requirement to be met, either Arizona has to switch, New Mexico has to pass full-time daylight time or Idaho has to do for the southern part of the state what it\u2019s done for the northern part. (Parts of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Texas and Oregon are also in the Mountain time zone, but they do not count for the bill\u2019s requirement.)<\/p>\n Sen. Jeff Bridges, a Greenwood Village Democrat who is also among the bill\u2019s prime sponsors, said the daylight time bills passed by other states in the region are an argument for Colorado passing its own bill. If Congress were to allow states to enact full-time daylight time \u2013 federal law currently allows states to choose full-time standard time but not the other way around \u2014 Colorado could find itself out of sync with its neighbors, Bridges said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis bill is actually much more about making sure that Colorado stays on track, stays aligned with other states in the Mountain time zone,\u201d Bridges said during a committee hearing this month.<\/p>\n He acknowledged research showing the potential harms of being on daylight saving time during the winter, but he said there is also research that shows the opposite \u2013 that later sunset times will increase physical activity as people spend more time outside after work or school. And he said the bill would eliminate the problems that come with clock-switching, especially in the spring.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, the best data we have, the best research we have is that changing the clock is the most-deadly thing we can do,\u201d Bridges said.<\/p>\n As for Congress\u2019 approval \u2013 the other requirement of Colorado\u2019s bill \u2013 the U.S. Senate last month passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent across the entire country. That measure now needs to be approved by the House, where it has stalled. President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has not said whether he would sign the bill if it gets through Congress.<\/p>\n