The U.S. House has voted to “ditch the switch” and make daylight saving time permanent—but Montanans are divided over which time should stay. While some want more evening sunlight, others worry permanent daylight time would leave children and commuters starting winter mornings in the dark. The proposal must still pass the Senate before anything changes.
The U.S. House has voted to “ditch the switch” and make daylight saving time permanent—but Montanans are divided over which time should stay. While some want more evening sunlight, others worry permanent daylight time would leave children and commuters starting winter mornings in the dark. T…
The U.S. House has voted to “ditch the switch” and make daylight saving time permanent—but Montanans are divided over which time should stay. While some want more evening sunlight, others worry permanent daylight time would leave children and commuters starting winter mornings in the dark. The proposal must still pass the Senate before anything changes.
MONTANA — Montana has spent years debating whether to stop changing clocks twice a year, but people across the state still do not agree on which time should stay.
Lawmakers in Montana considered ending the clock change during multiple legislative sessions, with proposals backing both permanent standard time and permanent daylight-saving time.
The state came closest to a shift in 2021, when lawmakers passed Senate Bill 254. That law supported year-round Mountain Daylight Time, but it could only take effect after federal authorization and similar action from enough other Western states.
Until those conditions are met, Montana continued to spring forward in March and fall back in November.
A proposal to keep daylight-saving time year-round would not have given Montana more daylight. It would have changed when that daylight happened.
That change would have stood out in Montana because of the state’s northern location and short winter days. Around the winter solstice, the sun in Missoula currently rose shortly after 8:00 a.m. and set before 5:00 p.m.
Under permanent daylight-saving time, sunrise would have shifted to shortly after 9:00 a.m. while sunset would have moved closer to 6:00 p.m.
Responses to a NonStop Local Facebook post showed many Montanans agreed on ending the twice-yearly clock change, but not on which system to keep.
Some people said they wanted more evening light after work and school. Others favored permanent standard time because they worried about children, commuters and agricultural workers starting winter mornings in the dark.
Others said the current system remained the better compromise.
I (Kendall Hudson) also spoke with people in person, though many did not want to appear on camera. It is reported that many shared the same views seen on Facebook, with some supporting permanent daylight-saving time and others saying they wanted children going to and from school in daylight during winter.
The House vote did not change Montana’s clocks. The bill still had to pass the Senate and be signed into law before the debate in Montana could turn to whether the state would keep daylight-saving time or choose standard time instead.
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