Lawmaker Pushes To Stop Observing Daylight Savings Time In Michigan

Michigan is the latest state to ramp up efforts to stop observing Daylight Savings Time.

As the time approaches to “spring forward,” a state lawmaker has introduced a bill to stop switching the clocks.

State Rep. Michele Hoitenga says Michigan should stop observing the time changes, and decide which one to keep. She explained to WXYZ that she’s “seen study after study for heart attacks, for school-aged kids, crime, it affects crime,” and more.

“Do we need that extra hour of daylight at the end of the day or in the morning?” Hoitenga wondered.

The bill means that Michigan joins Florida, Ohio, Georgia and other states in the push to end Daylight Savings Time.

"There is a growing body of scientific evidence demonstrating that these annual time shifts are bad for our health, disruptive to sleep cycles, and related to a higher immediate risk of heart attacks, strokes, cardiac arrhythmia, and even car accidents,” Michelle Au, a Democratic sponsor of the bill in Georgia (along with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan), said in a statement. "Furthermore, a majority of Americans agree that they want to do away with this tradition of 'springing forward' and 'falling back.'"

In Michigan, the Commerce and Tourism Committee is slated to vote on the legislation next. Hoitenga hopes for a counterpart in the Senate to sponsor a bill to go hand-in-hand with hers, according to WXYZ.

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