The Oregon Senate has approved a bill to maintain Standard Time year-round, with the caveat that California and Washington would also have to agree to it.
Senate Bill 1548 would let Oregonians living in the Pacific Time Zone stay on standard time for all 12 months of the year by permanently booting Daylight Saving Time, which is already a practice in Hawaii and Arizona, KTLA sister station KOIN reports.
However, testimony from the public highlighted that the change could have a negative effect on those who travel between Portland and Vancouver, Wash. every day if the coastal states don’t have an aligned timezone.
After amending the bill to require California and Washington’s agreement, the bill made its way to the Senate – and passed. However, the three states have until March 2034 to make the change.
SB 1548 follows a 2019 decision that specified Oregon could only make a permanent switch to Daylight Saving Time if the same decision were made in California and Washington by 2029. However, that bill did not hold up when it reached a federal level.
The new bill now heads for the Oregon House.