HOUSTON — If you’re one of those Texans who suffer through the time change twice a year, State Senator Paul Bettencourt, R-Houston, feels your pain.
He has filed legislation that would allow Texans to choose either standard time, which means darker evenings, or daylight saving time, which means longer daylight hours.
The Republican thinks Texans are sick of time change hangovers.
“This was all sold to us a hundred years ago back in World War I, and again X number of years ago that it’s somehow energy conservation. Well, in the modern economy, that’s not the real driver of this. So, why not let Texans vote on one time,” Senator Bettencourt told us on Inside Texas Politics.
Sen. Bettencourt filed Senate Bill 2029 and Senate Joint Resolution 67, which would allow Texans to decide whether to observe standard time or DST year-round through a statewide referendum on Nov. 4, 2025.
But even if lawmakers approve the legislation, and the public decides which time they’d like to follow, it wouldn’t be finalized yet.
States can choose to permanently follow standard time. But permanently changing to DST would require congressional approval.
Since ballot language is notoriously confusing, we asked whether it could be simplified for Texans.
“I’ll try to get some little monitors put in there, aka, ‘light longer’ or ‘gets dark earlier,’” the senator said with a laugh.
SJR 67 has been referred to the Senate State Affairs Committee, with no hearings scheduled yet. SB 2029 has only been filed.