Vick: Keep North Idaho, Washington in sync

COEUR D’ALENE — As legislators in Washington consider abandoning the annual change to daylight savings time, Sen. Steve Vick (R-Dalton Gardens) has proposed North Idaho’s 10 counties follow suit if Washington makes the move.

Washington Senate bill S6220, introduced by Sens. Jim Honeyford and Mark Mullet, would exempt Washington from daylight saving time. The bill sits in committee in Olympia at present.

Vick said that the close economic ties between eastern Washington and North Idaho make it important that the two regions remain in the same time zone.

“In many ways we are one community,” he said. Vick said he has contacted all the legislators from North Idaho’s counties.

“Many are supportive, and none are opposed.”

The Idaho Senate approved SCR138 unanimously last Wednesday and sent it to the House, where the state affairs committee will review it.

Because it is a resolution, Vick’s proposal would not immediately change time zone rules for North Idaho. If approved, a copy of the resolution would be sent to the Washington legislature and the U.S. Department of Transportation, which is responsible for establishing time zones across the nation.

Vick described the proposal as “a strong letter of recommendation.”

The federal government has the final say, he explained.

“This resolution requests that we notify the State of Washington and the U.S. Dept. of Transportation that if Washington makes the request to move to Mountain Standard Time and exempt itself from daylight savings time, the northern 10 counties in Idaho support the change and would make the same change. Since Pacific Daylight Time and Mountain Standard Time are the same, this change would have the same effect as our area staying on daylight savings time year-round.”

The counties affected include Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, and Shoshone.

Vick said he has not been in personal contact with legislators in Olympia but has heard from constituents about the problems of daylight savings time.

“Over the years I have heard many complaints about switching time twice a year, which is why I started to research this issue. However, I have also heard from some who like our current system. In general, my conversations on this issue lead me to believe that most people would prefer to stay on the same time year around, and if they could stay on the same time they would prefer to be on daylight savings time. That is what this resolution recommends.”