Daylight saving time bill narrowly passes Senate - Albuquerque Journal

Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, listens during a Senate floor session in February. His bill to keep New Mexico on daylight saving time year round was narrowly approved Friday and now advances to the House. (Eddie Moore/Journal)

SANTA FE — Is the timing right to do away with New Mexico’s twice-per-year clock changes?

A bill aimed at keeping the state on daylight saving time year round narrowly passed the Senate on Friday, but could face a race against the hourglass in the House with two weeks remaining in this year’s 60-day session.

Sen. Cliff Pirtle, R-Roswell, said he’s optimistic about the bill’s chances despite the failures of similar measures in past years.

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“I think people are ready to follow in the steps of … other states,” Pirtle said in an interview after Friday’s vote.

This year’s bill, Senate Bill 102, passed the Senate via a 22-18 vote with backers saying the twice-per-year time changes are hard on families with young children and have negative health affects.

“The reality is changing time kills people,” said Pirtle, citing reports showing higher rates of heart attacks and car changes after time changes.

But opponents said the proposal would hurt southern New Mexico, especially communities like Anthony and Santa Teresa that border, and in some cases straddle, Texas and Mexico.

“We’re going to have a massive economic disruption,” said Sen. Joseph Cervantes, D-Las Cruces.

And Sen. Jeff Steinborn, D-Las Cruces, said the time change proposal could be a “nightmare” for military bases that have personnel who live in multiple states.

But Pirtle dismissed such concerns as overblown, saying, ” It’s not that confusing — humans will adapt.”

And he opposed an attempted amendment to the bill that would have kept New Mexico on standard time — not daylight saving time — year round.

The debate also featured lighter moments, include several senators’ ruminations about how time changes affect cows.

Under federal law, states are allowed to opt out of daylight saving time, though such changes require congressional approval. Hawaii and most of Arizona don’t observe daylight saving time, though the Navajo Nation within Arizona does change its clocks.

Daylight saving time was first established in the United States in 1918 as a wartime measure to conserve electricity by providing an extra hour of daylight in the evenings during summer months.

This year’s change to daylight saving time is scheduled for March 14 — just six days before the end of the 60-day legislative session.

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