House Votes to Keep Daylight Savings Time

When you go to work on Monday, March 14, 2016, feeling like you have been deprived of sleep because of the annual leap forward to Daylight Savings Time, think back to today and thank the Texas House for your groggy state of mind. By a vote of 56 ayes to 79 nays, the House defeated legislation by Representative Dan Flynn to do away with the annual back and forth on time.

Some of the naysayers were worried about children going to school in the dark in winter, while others were worried that Sunday beer sales would not start in time for professional football kickoffs. Some just seemed confused. But then, does anybody know what time it really is?

“The only one who knows if it is sun up or sun down is the rooster,” Flynn told the House.

Representative Gary Elkins amended the bill to keep Texas on the current time by labeling it Eastern Standard Time. But because some objected to having Texas be anything Eastern, Representative Larry Phillips amended the bill to call the new time Texas Time. “Yeehaw!” shouted some member.

Time ran out on Flynn, however, and the bill went down. Texas will continue to fall back in the Fall and spring forward in the Spring. The unofficial vote was:

Yeas – Anderson, C.; Bell; Blanco; Bonnen, D.; Burkett; Burns; Button; Capriglione; Craddick; Darby; Elkins; Fallon; Fletcher; Flynn; Goldman; Guerra; Guillen; Gutierrez; Herrero; Hunter; Isaac; King, P.; Klick; Krause; Laubenberg; Lozano; Márquez; McClendon; Miller, R.; Morrison; Muñoz; Murr; Naishtat; Nevárez; Paul; Phillips; Raney; Raymond; Riddle; Rinaldi; Schaefer; Sheets; Sheffield; Simmons; Simpson; Smith; Smithee; Springer; Stickland; Thompson, E.; Thompson, S.; Tinderholt; White, J.; White, M.; Workman; Zedler.

Nays – Allen; Alonzo; Alvarado; Anchia; Anderson, R.; Ashby; Aycock; Bernal; Canales; Clardy; Coleman; Collier; Cyrier; Dale; Davis, S.; Davis, Y.; Deshotel; Dutton; Faircloth; Farias; Farney; Frank; Frullo; Galindo; Giddings; Gonzales; González; Harless; Hernandez; Howard; Huberty; Israel; Johnson; Kacal; Keffer; Keough; King, K.; King, S.; King, T.; Koop; Kuempel; Landgraf; Larson; Leach; Martinez; Martinez Fischer; Metcalf; Meyer; Miles; Miller, D.; Minjarez; Moody; Murphy; Oliveira; Paddie; Parker; Peña; Phelan; Pickett; Price; Reynolds; Rodriguez, E.; Rodriguez, J.; Romero; Schofield; Schubert; Shaheen; Spitzer; Stephenson; Turner, C.; Turner, E.S.; Turner, S.; VanDeaver; Villalba; Vo; Walle; Wray; Wu; Zerwas.