As clocks spring forward this weekend in the twice yearly ritual that allows us to enjoy more sunshine if not more sleep, a state lawmaker from San Jose is forging ahead with his quest to exempt California from this seasonal time fuss.

Assemblyman Kansen Chu, D-San Jose, a soft-spoken IBM retiree, really hates having to change his clock each spring and fall, which he says messes with our health and peace of mind. He believes many others agree, and has a bill headed for a state Senate hearing that could eventually make Daylight Saving Time last all year in California.

“I don’t see a reason we have to continue with this back and forth,” Chu said Friday. “I think it’s time to revisit this.”

If approved by the Legislature and signed into law, Chu’s AB 807 would place a measure on a future statewide ballot to repeal the state’s Daylight Saving Time Act and allow lawmakers to pass a new law making Daylight Saving Time year round.

But as Chu has learned, changing our clock is no easy thing. Should Chu’s proposal win approval from state lawmakers and voters, it will require an act of Congress to make Daylight Saving Time permanent in California.

But it’s not out of the question. Florida lawmakers this week approved “Sunshine Protection Act” that if signed into law would ask Congress to allow the Sunshine State to use Daylight Saving Time year round.

The whole concept of Daylight Saving Time originated in Germany to save energy during World War I. Soon after, it was adopted by the U.S. and other sub-tropical countries as a temporary war-time measure, with American states having the option of continuing it in peace time.

Arizona and Hawaii don’t use Daylight Saving Time, while California has observed it since voters approved it in 1949.

Under the Uniform Time Act of 1966, states may chose whether to use Daylight Saving Time. But those that do must follow the federal government’s time change schedule — currently from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.

Eliminating Daylight Saving Time would require no approval from Congress, and Chu’s original proposal would have allowed that as an option. But youth sports leagues and families worried that a year-round early sunset would shut down their kids’ after-school games. So Chu amended his bill to take year-round standard time off the table.

Chu said he has reached out to Rep. Ro Khanna, a fellow Democrat from Fremont, to pursue legislation in Congress should his bill pass.

The time changing ritual has been controversial for generations, with studies suggesting the disruption in schedules increases traffic accidents and heart attacks. But both standard and Daylight Saving Time have their critics. Keeping Daylight Saving Time year round allows more afternoon daylight, but at the expense of more morning darkness.

Studies assessing energy savings have produced mixed results, and mostly have looked at extensions of Daylight Saving Time rather than year round standard or daylight time.

Chu is convinced there’s no meaningful benefit to the twice-yearly switch.

“There’s really no good reason switch back and forth,” Chu said. “I’ve talked to farmers, I ask, ‘Does this affect you?’ Their answer is blunt: ‘We get up when we need to get up. The cow doesn’t read the clock.'”

Andrea Feathers, a Los Angeles lawyer who created the Facebook group “Save the Light,” agrees.

“I’ve talked to so many people who say these few hours are the only time they really have to play with their kids outside, or go for a bike ride, or grab a coffee with friends,” Feathers said in a statement Friday. “By making Daylight Saving Time year round, we would empower people to make even better use of that time with outdoor activities that they couldn’t easily or safely do in the dark.”

Related Articles Daylight Saving Time is here to stay in California So as Chu bemoans another lost hour of sleep this weekend, he carries on with his quest.

“You have to exercise lot patience,” Chu said, “to work in government.”