Daylight Saving Time to stay in Nebraska after bill dies in legislature

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - Nebraska won’t be dropping Daylight Saving Time anytime soon.

Lawmakers debated two proposals Monday, both of which would have stopped the practice of changing clocks twice a year.

Arizona and Hawaii currently observe Standard Time permanently.

“I would ask for your green vote, for once and for all, not to have to change our clocks twice a year,” said Sen. Steve Erdman of Bayard.

It would keep nearly every sunrise before 8 a.m. Supporters argue it’s better for our health -- more aligned with our Circadian rhythm, or “body clock.”

“I specifically wanted to bring this forward because as a mom of two little ones, I know how disruptive that twice-a-year time change used to be for their nap schedules, used to be for their sleep schedules, and is still hard on them today,” said Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln.

But many fellow Republican senators felt a change wasn’t necessary, and that debating it was a waste of, well, time.

“If only things in our daily lives were as simple as changing our clocks twice a year,” said Sen. Frederic Meyer of Albion. “I know my life is much more complicated than that. There’s much bigger issues than changing clocks. I think this issue is a much to do about nothing.”

“I’d prefer to leave things the way they are,” said Sen. Robert Clements of Elmwood. “We’ve been doing it this way 50 years now, I believe, roughly.”

The first bill needed 25 votes to pass, but only received 19. The status quo of either losing an hour of sleep or gaining one remains unchanged.

The second bill proposed by Sen. Conrad that didn’t make it to the second round would have made Daylight Saving Time permanent -- operating one hour ahead of “natural time” all year long.