There's a bipartisan push to keep Daylight Saving Time year-round in Washington



OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Research finds it leads to car accidents and health issues, and it also damages our sleep patterns. So why do we change the time so faithfully twice a year?

It's an issue that's uniting some Democrats and Republicans in Olympia. There's a bipartisan push to get rid of falling back and springing forward, keeping Washington on Daylight Saving Time year-round.

Republican state Sen. Jim Honeyford of Sunnyside has paired up with Democrat state Sen. Sam Hunt of Olympia and state Sen. Kevin Van De Wege, D-Sequim, to pre-file two bills in the state Senate. If approved, it would ask the federal government to allow states to decide whether to change the time twice a year.

If that happens, Washington would remain on Daylight Saving Time year-round.

Voters in California have embraced the idea of year-round Daylight Saving Time, voting in favor of it on the ballot in November 2018.  It still needs approval from the state legislature and Congress.  If it's given the green light, Prop 7 would mean the people of California would not adjust their clocks twice yearly.

Honeyford hopes to have year-round Daylight Saving Time in Washington by the spring of 2020.