“There oughta be a law”

2023-03-13

Dear friend,

A shout out today to House Corrections committee member Rep. Michelle Bos-Lun, Senate Corrections committee member Wendy Harrison, and Department of Corrections staff, who are visiting the Maine Correctional Women's Center today, outside of Portland. We've been studying this facility for its best practices as we contemplate how to build Vermont's next women's facility at an estimated $70 million cost.

I had to cancel last minute due to a family emergency, so I will look forward to their report. Silver lining, with some unexpected time at home today I have this moment to write to you, my friends.

I have a friend who often says, "There ought to be a law about that." He and I used to get talking. And after eating around the edges of all that is wrong in the world, we'd dive into the hot-button topic of the day. We'd both get worked up about how messed up the current situation is, and how someone should do something about it.

"There oughta be a law," he'd say. What we both felt but didn't say was how it feels that no one will make a law and nothing will change. It's the kind of conversation where I imagine both of us turning to face the south and shaking our fists at D.C. as if it were some kind of anti-Mecca, a place we turn to five times a day and curse.

Street mural in Montreal, as seen by us this weekend

Daylight Savings Time is one of those things.

Spring forward? Are you kidding? What kind of b.s. is that?

After the clock change Saturday night, our whole Sunday felt like a series of "Oh crap, you mean it's already ________ and we haven't __________?"

The first was "Oh crap, it's already 9 a.m. and we haven't had breakfast!" and it went on from there.

I ended the day with, "Oh crap it's already midnight and I'm not in bed!"

Monday morning started with, "What time is it?!"

Confusion has set in. The clock told me this morning I should be awake. But the sun wasn't up and my body was counting on another hour of sleep.

I'm grumpy. Not just because I'm groggy.

I'm grumpy because according to researchers, about 30 Americans will die this week in traffic accidents associated with groggy drivers getting used to "spring forward." A study of 732,000 accidents over two decades showed that the annual switch to daylight saving time is associated with a 6% increase in fatal car crashes this week.

That's not all. Heart attacks will be up. According to sleep researcher Matthew Walker, author of Why We Sleep, an hour of sleep loss is a major stressor on the cardiovascular system, and the time change is fatal for some folks whose heart health is marginal. I hope that the worst you feel today is a little off.

There ought to be a law!

There's growing nationwide consensus that clock changes are disruptive and something should be done. Let's do away with these clock changes and establish Permanent Standard Time. Myself and four other Vermont legislators introduced H.267 to do just that. (See more details in my previous post: How a bill starts a conversation.)

This being the era of "trust science," it only feels right that there should be a conflicting study that we have to sort though.

November is when we can look forward to getting that hour back when we "fall back" to Standard Time. According to a study of accident data, the two weeks following that change is associated with a 16% rise in collisions between deer and cars. The authors of this study claim that we should move to permanent Daylight Time because that will reduce the number of people commuting during dusk hours when deer are on the move and collisions are common.

And if you agree, there's a bill now in the Vermont House for you, H.329, introduced by Rep. Seth Chase of Colchester.

Which science do we trust here?

I have an issue with the logic of the deer study. The deer aren't suddenly changing their behavior in November when humans change their clocks. We shouldn't move the hour hand to avoid deer. We should stop disrupting the sleep schedules of human drivers who are less likely to be alert when deer cross the road. Not to mention kids walking to school or waiting to get on the bus, who are also being struck by cars at a higher rate in the week after both time changes.

Not everyone will agree on which time to use, Standard or Daylight, but just about everyone I talk to wants our Legislature to pick one and do away with the clock changes.

For those of you who have written in to say that the time change is no big deal, I envy you today.

I may be grumpy, and I may be ranting, so here's my point. Despite all those conversations with my buddy, I never thought I'd be in a position to write a bill, which could become a law...

I don't know if Vermont and neighboring states will summon the legislative will to pass Permanent Standard Time. But I'm excited to be making a go at it.

And at this mid-point in the current legislative session, I'd love to hear from you.

What issues are you grumpy about? What would you be excited to see a bill about?

If there's already a bill out there (search here), let me know. Or let me know if you think one should be written.

It could be wacky. It could be pie-in-the-sky. It could be unpopular or impractical. It could be futuristic or it could be about supporting traditions. Whatever's on your mind, I love getting ideas and I love knowing what has you fired up.