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Our Clocks Are Set To Fall Back Sunday; Why Is California Still Observing Daylight Saving Time?

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — This Sunday, our evenings will start to get a little darker as we turn the clocks back one hour to mark the end of daylight saving time.

But just as when our clock hands jumped forward in March, many people may be wondering why we're still acknowledging daylight saving time after Californians voted to pass Proposition 7 back in November of 2018.

Proposition 7 passed in November 59.8%-40.2%.

Nearly 60 percent of voters were in favor of getting rid of the idea altogether, joining Hawaii and Arizona as states that do not recognize the time change.

The proposition's supporters pointed to a study showing an increased risk of car accidents and heart attacks following the spring change, due to the loss of an hour's sleep.

So why are we still changing our clocks?

The passage of Prop 7 allows lawmakers to pass a law to permanently set California's standard time to year-round daylight saving time. Assemblymembers Kansen Chu (D-25th District), Lorena Gonzalez (D-80th District) and Jay Obernolte (R-33rd District) introduced Assembly Bill 7 last December.

AB 7 would need a two-thirds majority vote from California Legislature. Without any legislative change, the current daylight saving period — early March to early November — will remain.

Before the law can take effect, it would also need to be authorized by the federal government — what opponents of the bill argued would be the greatest hurdle.

If that happens, the bill states:

"Effective immediately after federal law authorizes the state to apply year-round daylight saving time, the standard time within the state shall advance by one hour commencing at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of the March following the effective date of the federal authorization. Subsequently, notwithstanding subdivision (b), the daylight saving time period will not end and will apply year-round."

For those still confused, the time we observe currently from mid-March until early November would become the time we observe year-round. So the sun would stay out longer, but also rise later.

For instance, if we adopt a year-round clock, the sun won't rise until 8:22 am on Christmas, and it won't set until 5:50 pm. Currently, on Christmas Day 2019 the sun will rise at 7:22 am and set at 4:50 pm.

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