Quote:
Originally Posted by Slava
The DST vote is so lame. We have more than ample evidence that continually switching our clocks has a lot of negative ramifications and most of North America seems stuck in this "well we'd do it, but not if we have to go first" mentality.
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Not really. The problem is with the way the law is written in the States. Currently, you have the choice of either staying on Standard Time for your region year-round or doing the clock switch twice a year. Remaining on DST year-round isn't currently legally allowed (and switching time zones requires approval from the Department of Transportation, so that isn't an option either).
A number of states (including most of the western states) have passed legislation to switch to permanent DST when it becomes federally legal. Legislation has been introduced at the federal level to revise the law to allow for permanent DST, but it has yet to pass.
When/if the federal law is ever changed, I think we'll very quickly see permanent DST adopted throughout most of the continent, especially in the west. BC has also passed legislation to move to permanent DST but only once the west coast States do it.
That's what makes this whole vote such a waste of time. When the rest of the continent (or at least a significant percentage) makes the change, we should do so as well to stay linked with our biggest trade and travel partners. We should not do so out-of-step with the rest, and if this vote does pass, I hope they have the good sense to write it so that it only comes into effect at the same time as BC, which would also be in-line with most of the western states.