By Tara Kavaler Arizona Republic
A Senate-passed bill that would make daylight saving time permanent would not affect Arizona should it become law.
The legislation, titled the Sunshine Protection Act, would not extend to states such as Arizona, with the exception of the Navajo Nation, that do not observe daylight saving time.
Hawaii, the only other state to not set their clocks forward, also would be exempted.
Arizona is the only state in the continental U.S. that does not observe daylight saving time.
The bill, which was passed Tuesday with unanimous consent, was introduced last March by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida.
Arizona is on Mountain Standard Time, which is also Pacific Daylight Time, three hours behind the East Coast.
If the legislation becomes law, Arizona and California would always be on the same time.
While Arizona could decide to switch to Mountain Daylight Time, the idea is unpopular in the state. In 2015, state Rep. Phil Lovas, R-Peoria, unsuccessfully introduced House Bill 2014, which would have reversed a 1968 state law opting out of the federal Uniform Time Act.
