Some Arizona lawmakers are proposing that Arizona adopt daylight saving time.
Arizona's one of only two states where DST isn't observed (Hawaii is the other), and one of the bill's sponsors told us why he thinks it's time for Arizona to join the rest.
"My rationale is simply that it's harder to do business when we're on Pacific Time," Republican Representative Phil Lovas tells New Times.
According to the state archives website, Arizona's been back-and-forth on the DST issue over the years, but it hasn't been observed in the state since 1967.
The archives mention a few possible reasons why the state rejected DST, including one state representative who was quoted as saying that Arizona's opting-out "was prompted by the fact that Arizona is on the western edge of the mountain time zone where the exemption will keep Arizona, California and Mexico on the same time and stimulate business among them." (DST was created by federal law, but it allowed states to opt out.)
So, for nearly 50 years, Arizonans have not had to "spring forward" or "fall back" every year.
Lovas, however, says it just makes practical sense to observe Mountain Time year-round.
"I've thought about it for several years," he says. "I've worked for hotel companies and done a lot of travel -- it's just a fact of life that [DST is] easier when it comes to flight schedules and doing business."
Of course, there's also the complication that the Navajo Nation does observe DST, so there's a pocket of land in Arizona where the time is different from the rest of the state.
This year's legislative session hasn't started yet, but Lovas' bill is one of a handful that have been submitted early. There are two other Republican lawmakers signed on as co-sponsors to the bill.
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