Putting Daylight Savings Time On The Ballot?
- Team MIRS
- Mar 7
- 2 min read
(Source: MIRS.news, Published 03/06/2025) The only thing more predictable than daylight saving time over the last 10 years is a bill in the Michigan Legislature to eliminate it.
Sen. Thomas Albert (R-Lowell) kept the streak going in the 103rd Legislature with his SB 126 , which puts the fate of “falling back” or “springing ahead” in the hands of voters on the Nov. 3. 2026 general election ballot.
Daylight saving time starts back up this Sunday, giving legislators a platform to bemoan the havoc it plays with people's internal clocks, particularly those of children and vulnerable adults. Since the 2015-16 session, a bill changing Michigan's participation in daylight saving time has been introduced 10 times. The furthest any of the bills made it through the system was 2021, when Michigan's participation in daylight saving time hinged on whether Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, Pennsylvania and Ohio also got rid of daylight saving time. If they ditched it, so would Michigan.
If Albert has any say in the matter, this should be the last time the bill needs to be introduced.
“Is switching to daylight saving time worth the headaches? Does it have any valid reason for continuing in this day and age?” Albert asked. “I personally would say ‘no,’ but obviously opinions differ. We should let the people of Michigan decide once and for all.”
Federal law allows states to opt out of daylight saving time, as Hawaii and Arizona have done. States are not allowed to remain on daylight saving time year-round, so the current choice is between observing the twice-a-year time change or remaining on standard time year-round. The upshot would be that most of Michigan would on Eastern Standard Time (EST) between November and March and Central Standard Time (CST) between March and November.
Michigan is on EST, but a few counties in the Upper Peninsula are on CST.
Daylight saving time was first implemented in the U.S. during World War I and World War II, purportedly to reduce energy consumption. It was later set into federal law in 1966, with states having the ability to opt out.
“The alleged benefits of daylight saving time — particularly when it comes to energy savings — are questionable at best,” Albert said. “I don’t believe the benefits are worth the disrupted sleep and the possible health and safety concerns raised by the time change. It’s time to let voters decide.”
Michigan voters rejected daylight saving time in 1968 by 490 votes out of around 2.8 million votes cast. Michigan voters then permitted its establishment in 1972 by 294,163 votes.
