House clock vote puts Arizona’s schedule in the spotlight: clocks stay put, coordination changes

The U.S. House voted 308-117 to end the twice-yearly clock change and put the nation on permanent daylight saving time if the Senate goes along, Cronkite News reported Tuesday. The Sunshine Protection Act would also let states opt out and remain on permanent standard time.

For Arizona, which has stayed on Mountain Standard Time since 1968, the practical question is not about changing clocks but coordinating with everyone else. Arizona is on the same time as Los Angeles in summer today. If California and most states move to daylight time year-round and Arizona stays on standard time, that Phoenix, L.A. alignment would likely become permanent, simplifying flights, freight and TV schedules across the state line.

One complication sits inside our own borders. Cronkite News notes the part of Arizona controlled by the Navajo Nation currently observes daylight saving time. If the rest of Arizona maintains standard time while the country flips to permanent daylight time, the time difference between Navajo Nation and the rest of the state would persist year-round instead of just seasonally. That has everyday consequences for county services, tourism and trucking in northern Arizona that already juggle two clocks each summer.

Arizona’s House delegation split 5-4 against the bill, according to Cronkite News. Democrats Greg Stanton and Yassamin Ansari of Phoenix and Adelita Grijalva of Tucson voted no, as did Republicans Paul Gosar of Bullhead City and Andy Biggs of Gilbert. Republicans David Schweikert of Fountain Hills, Juan Ciscomani of Tucson, Eli Crane of Oro Valley and Abe Hamadeh of Scottsdale backed it. Schweikert and Biggs face each other in the July 21 GOP primary for governor, making their split notable for voters who prize predictability in schools and business.

President Donald Trump has pushed for ending the biannual clock ritual, calling it inconvenient and costly. “It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,’ not to mention all of the work and money that is spent on this ridiculous, twice yearly production,” he wrote on Truth Social in May after a House committee advanced the bill, Cronkite News reported. He framed permanent daylight time as the “more popular alternative.”

The reasons Arizona opted out decades ago still matter. Cronkite News cites historical explanations that Arizona, with abundant summer daylight, stuck with standard time to save on cooling costs and allow evening activities to start earlier. Only Hawaii shares Arizona’s statewide use of permanent standard time, while Congress has tweaked start and end dates for daylight time several times since the Uniform Time Act of 1966.

Washington has tried universal daylight time before. In response to the 1973 Arab oil embargo, Congress ran a national experiment that Cronkite News says ended early in 1975 amid public dissatisfaction. A Pennsylvania Democrat recounted that parents did not like sending kids to school in the dark. Health concerns tied to circadian rhythm disruption also animate opposition, and a 2007 Energy Department study on savings was inconclusive, according to Cronkite News.

Even some supporters questioned Congress’s priorities. “I actually support this bill,” said Massachusetts Democrat Jim McGovern, before asking if this was the best the majority could do while families face rent, utility and health care pressures, Cronkite News reported. That frustration is familiar in Arizona, where businesses, schools and first responders need steadier policy and fewer Washington theatrics.

If the Senate passes the measure, state officials would need to decide how to respond under the federal opt-out framework. Cronkite News reports the bill lets states choose permanent standard time instead. Arizona’s longstanding practice points one way, but lawmakers and the governor would still need to communicate clearly with schools, tribes and industry about what, if anything, they must do to stay the course.

Bottom line for Arizona’s growth corridors: most residents would keep doing what they do now, without springing ahead or falling back. The bigger shift would be on the map. If neighbors lock in daylight time and Arizona keeps standard time, Phoenix and Los Angeles would stay synced year-round while the Navajo Nation, Arizona split would no longer be seasonal. Businesses should start scenario-planning for permanent schedules across those lines.

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