2018 California Proposition 7
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Conforms California Daylight Saving Time to federal law. Allows legislature to change Daylight Saving Time period. | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results by county Yes: 50–60% 60–70% No: 50–60% | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Source: California Secretary of State[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Elections in California |
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Proposition 7 ("Prop 7") was a California ballot proposition in that state's general election on November 6, 2018.[2] The measure passed, by a vote of about 60% Yes to 40% No.[3]
The proposition permits the California State Legislature to change the times and dates of daylight saving time period by a two-thirds vote, all while in compliance with federal law. For the state to have such powers, Proposition 12 (1949), which established daylight saving time in California, needed to be repealed, which can only be done by the electorate.
Following passage of Proposition 7, California Assemblymember Kansen Chu submitted Assembly Bill 7 in 2019 to "eliminate the biannual clock change in California and set the state on daylight saving time year-round, pending federal authorization."[4] The bill died in committee in 2020.[5]
Ballot Label summary
[edit]The California Secretary of State's summary from the Official Voter Information Guide of Proposition 7 is as follows:[6]
"CONFORMS CALIFORNIA DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME TO FEDERAL LAW. ALLOWS LEGISLATURE TO CHANGE DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME PERIOD. LEGISLATIVE STATUTE. Gives Legislature ability to change daylight saving time period by two-thirds vote, if changes are consistent with federal law. Fiscal Impact: This measure has no direct fiscal effect because changes to daylight saving time would depend on future actions by the Legislature and potentially the federal government.
Supporters
[edit]Opponents
[edit]- Bakersfield Californian
- Marin Independent Journal
- San Francisco Chronicle
- The Mercury News
- Monterey Herald
- The Press-Democrat
- Sacramento Bee
- San Luis Obispo Tribune
Election results
[edit]The results of the vote were 59.75% YES to 40.25% NO.
| Choice | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|
 Yes
|
7,167,315 | 59.75 |
| No | 4,828,564 | 40.25 |
| Valid votes | 11,995,879 | 100 |
| Total votes | 11,995,879 | 100.00 |
Aftermath
[edit]Despite passing with almost 60% of the vote, the proposition only allows the legislature to change the times and dates of daylight saving time period by a two-thirds vote of both chambers, while remaining in compliance with federal law (which permits permanent standard time).
In November 2019, Chu issued a news release promising to continue his efforts to urge passage of legislation in Washington, DC. "I share the disappointment with other Californians that we will be switching our clocks once again this November after passing Proposition 7... Unfortunately, the California State Senate Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications did not bring AB 7 up for a vote and the bill died. While I will not be coming back as a State Assemblymember next year, I will continue my advocacy at the state and federal level to uphold Californians' will to get rid of our outdated practice of switching the clock back and forth twice a year. I urge everyone who voted for Prop 7 to reach out to your state and federal representatives and ask them to continue my effort in the upcoming legislative session."[5]
In 2020, Assemblymember Lorena Gonzalez, who was a co-author of both Prop 7 and AB 7, expressed interest in a new bill. She has noted that medical consensus supports permanent standard time and opposes permanent daylight saving time, and that federal law makes permanent standard time the quicker path to ending clock change. But she has questioned whether a super majority of the legislature can agree.[10][11]
See also
[edit]- List of California ballot propositions 2010–19
- List of California ballot propositions
- Elections in California
- Permanent time observation in the United States
References
[edit]- ^ "Statement of Vote: 2018 General Election" (PDF). California Secretary of State. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ "vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov/2018/general/pdf/topl.pdf#prop12" (PDF). vig.cdn.sos.ca.gov. Retrieved 2018-11-06.
- ^ Statement of vote
- ^ Pham, Annie (2019-03-08). "Californians Could Be Switching the Clocks for the Very Last Time". Assemblymember Kansen Chu (press release). Archived from the original on 2019-03-23. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
AB 7, which will eliminate the biannual clock change in California and set the state on Daylight Saving Time year-round, pending federal authorization.
- ^ a b "Daylight saving time still happened in California despite vote". 27 October 2020.
- ^ "Official Voter Information Guide" (PDF). California Secretary of State. November 2018. p. 44. Retrieved 2019-03-11.
- ^ "Vote yes on Proposition 7 to force another look at daylight saving time". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
- ^ "Endorsement Prop. 7: Vote for time switch, then end daylight-saving". sandiegouniontribune.com. 26 October 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
- ^ "Editorial: It's time to stop messing with time; vote yes on Prop. 7". vcstar. Retrieved 2019-01-21.
- ^ Gonzalez, Vicki (11 March 2021). "School Reopening Update / Vaccination Rates In Rural, Underserved Communities / Is There Really A California Exodus? / Prospects Of Making Daylight Saving Time Permanent". Insight. Cap Radio. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
Overwhelmingly it passed on the ballot. Overwhelmingly you have people saying they don't want time change. But because there's two options, it's really hard to get a two-thirds vote for one of the options. And we were really straightforward when we ran the initiative that we weren't putting our thumb on the scale of either Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time. But everybody heard what they wanted to hear. So, people who like Daylight Saving Time thought, 'Yes, Daylight Saving Time year-round,' and people who don't like time change thought Standard Time year-round. Now we're in a little bit of a pickle.
- ^ Zavala, Ashley (4 November 2021). "Why does California still observe daylight saving time 3 years after Prop 7 was passed?". Inside California Politics. Fox 40. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
Gonzalez co-authored the measure voters approved back in 2018. "We have experts, medical professionals who say we need to go to standard time year-round," … we have to get it through with two-thirds of a vote so we haven't been able to get legislators to agree on one or the other." … "The only thing we could do immediately to change it is by two-thirds vote decide to go to standard time year-round, although I haven't seen that we have the votes to do that," Gonzalez told FOX40.