The Nebraska legislature has killed a bill putting the state on either daylight savings time or standard time year-round.
The bill introduced last year called for doing away with the “spring forward, fall back” system of switching clocks back and forth by moving to permanent daylight saving time, but an amendment filed this year proposed permanent standard time.
After 8 hours of debate spread over 3 days in 2 different weeks, the amendment fell 6 votes short of receiving 1st-round approval while the original version drew only 14 of the necessary 25 votes
There was wide agreement among the senators that the twice-a-year changes are a bother and can pose health risks, but no consensus on which was the better solution – more dark at the beginning or ending of the day.
Several lawmakers seemed to share the sentiments of Elmwood Senator Rob Clements, who said he appreciates daylight saving time in the summer so he and his grandkids can play in the evening in the sunlight.
Some also supported Senator Fred Meyer of St Paul, who called the issue “much ado about nothing” and adding “If only things in our daily lives were as simple as changing our clocks twice a year.”