OKLAHOMA CITY – It’s that time of year again. Oklahomans, along with the majority of the nation, will turn their clock forward one hour on Sunday, March 9, to observe Daylight Saving Time (DST).
It’s also that time of year when legislators debate about changing the clocks and if an extra hour of daylight is actually needed in the evening or not, which started during World War I to save energy. The catch phrase “lock the clock” has been applied both ways – to permanently stay on Central Standard Time (CST) or permanently enact DST.
In 2023, former state Sen. Nathan Dahm (R-Broken Arrow) proposed Senate Bill 69 to establish CST as the permanent time model. The measure died in the Senate General Government Committee.
In 2024, Sen. Blake Stephens (R-Tahlequah) introduced SB 1200, which supported DST as the year-round time. Gov. Kevin Stitt signed the bill into law, but the sticking point is that the legislation becomes effective only when the federal government enacts a law that would permit states to “enter upon and permanently observe” DST. That hasn’t happened yet.
Now, in 2025, the clock proposal jumped chambers when Rep. Kevin West (R-Moore) introduced House Bill 1223 in an effort to mandate that CST becomes the year-round model. Last week, the measure passed the House General Government Committee on a 5-1 vote and a policy recommendation was made to the General Oversight Committee. If ultimately signed into law, HB 1223 would repeal last year’s SB 1200.
Actually, all the dial-spinning on the nation’s clocks is under jurisdiction of the Uniform Time Act of 1966 and enforced by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Individual states do not have the authority to choose to be on permanent DST. They can choose not to observe it through state law like Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation) and Hawaii, but can’t choose to permanently observe it.
It really all has to do with transportation, which is why the U.S. Department of Transportation is the regulator of the clocks. Railroads needing to run on an established time schedule brought about the standardization known today. Prior to 1883, U.S. and Canadian railroads sought to reduce the confusion resulting from some 100 conflicting locally established “sun times” observed, according to the DOT website. Federal oversight of time zones began more than 100 years ago in 1918 with the enactment of the Standard Time Act.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 states that either Congress or the Secretary of Transportation can change a time zone boundary, but the DOT does not have the power to repeal or change Daylight Saving Time. That’s up to Congress and, although debated for years, no change has been made to date.
West has authored several bills that would allow Oklahomans to vote on adopting CST as the permanent model, stopping the twice-yearly time change. In the meantime, however, the debate and the two-step dance of “springing forward” and “falling back” is ongoing.
In a press release, West said he will keep pushing for legislation to put the question before state voters.