Washington House passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent

Washington state lawmakers have voted overwhelmingly to pass legislation that would require the state to observe daylight saving time year-round.

According to The Seattle Times, the state House passed the measure, also known as House Bill 1196, in a 90-6 vote on Tuesday, accepting amendments added to bill by the state Senate one week earlier.

{mosads}The bill now heads to Gov. Jay Inslee (D), who is running for president, for consideration. State Rep. Marcus Riccelli (D), one of the co-sponsors for the legislation, told the Times he is confident the governor will sign the bill.

“The people of Washington have said they want to #DitchTheSwitch, and passing this bill sends that message loud and clear to the other Washington,” Riccelli said in a statement shortly after the state Senate passed the legislation in a 46-2 vote last week.

However, before the bill can be implemented, Congress has to approve the switch to permanent daylight saving time, as individual states can only opt-in to remaining on standard time permanently.

Lawmakers in several other states, including California, are also considering legislation that would bring an end to the biannual time change. 

Last month, President Trump also came out in support of efforts to keep the United States permanently on daylight saving time. 

“Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is O.K. with me!” Trump said in a tweet in early March.