BEND — For the past 115 years, most Americans have changed their clocks an hour backward and an hour forward on the first Sunday of November and the second Sunday of March, either making the days shorter or longer, causing brief disruptions to people’s schedules.

Daylight saving time is still an American tradition despite many states, including Oregon, passing legislation to do away with the practice that serves no apparent purpose other than to confuse us twice a year.

It was implemented in the U.S. in 1918, during World War I, to conserve energy. It didn’t last long before it was done away with. But during World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt brought daylight saving time back, calling it “War Time.” By 1966, President Lyndon Johnson would sign into law what would become the standard practice of daylight saving time. The start time and end time to daylight saving time, however, would change over the years.

In the Pacific Northwest, where Oregon and Washington state have passed laws to end the seasonal time change, there is talk of staying on daylight saving time permanently if the entire West Coast passes laws in agreement.

California, however, has yet to follow suit, and no formal law has been passed on the federal level to allow the change to take effect.

What about legislation?

At the federal level, legislation was voted on unanimously in the U.S. Senate in 2019 to get rid of the time change. The bill continues to languish in the U.S. House.

In March, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, and his colleagues introduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which would eliminate the clock changing.

“It’s time to put a stop to the twice-a-year time-change madness. Science and common sense show that (access to) more year-round daylight would improve our health, help kids spend a bit more time enjoying outdoor after-school activities, and encourage folks to support local businesses while on a sunny stroll in their communities,” Wyden said. “I’m all in to get the Sunshine Protection Act passed into law at last.”

Wyden’s office cited reductions in car crashes, robberies, cardiac issues, stroke and seasonal depression among other things as benefits to the bipartisan legislation to end the spring forward and the fall back.

Also in 2019, legislators in Oregon passed Senate Bill 320, which would do away with the time change and lock Oregon into daylight saving time under the condition that California and Washington did the same. That year, Washington state passed a similar law, but California did not.

What about California?

In 2018, Californians overwhelmingly approved a ballot initiative that paved the way for getting rid of the time change for eternity. The ballot initiative gave state legislators the ability to pass legislation to make daylight saving time permanent as long as the federal government gave the green light. But after legislation was introduced in the statehouse, it never got passed.

Even if California’s bill passed, it would still have to rely on the federal government for validation, the same as in Oregon and Washington state.

The Sunshine Protection Act would have provided that validation for states like California, Oregon and Washington state to collectively say good riddance to the antiquated practice. Unfortunately, the bill is still meandering through the U.S. House of Representatives.