Arkansas’ Time Dilemma: The Daylight Saving Debate
As March 10 approaches, Arkansans prepare for the annual disruption to their sleep schedules with the onset of daylight saving time. While this change offers longer evenings, it also brings darker mornings, stirring debate and legislative action across the state.
Although Arkansas typically aligns with the majority in observing daylight saving time, state lawmakers have made repeated attempts to break from tradition. In 2019, Representative Sarah Capp of Ozark introduced House Bill 1368, advocating for year-round standard time. However, lacking sufficient support, the bill was withdrawn a mere 23 days later.
Following suit, Representative Johnny Rye of Trumann put forth House Bill 1017 in 2020, proposing perpetual daylight saving time. Despite clearing the House with ease, the bill faltered in a Senate committee meeting later that year.
Undeterred, Rye attempted another adjustment in 2022 with House Bill 1039, which met a similar fate, withdrawn after just a month. In 2023, Representatives Stephen Meeks and R. Scott Richardson also made efforts to alter timekeeping practices, only for their bills to be withdrawn, highlighting the persistent challenge of changing Arkansas’s time laws.
The debate over standard time versus daylight saving time persists, with experts and residents divided. While some argue for the health benefits of adhering to standard time year-round, others champion the productivity and mood-enhancing effects of daylight saving time.
With opinions clashing and preferences diverging, one thing remains certain: the clock will continue to dictate life’s rhythm in Arkansas for the foreseeable future. Whether Arkansans will ever experience a time without time changes remains uncertain. Until then, the daylight saving time battle wages on in the Natural State.
