Meeting Public Comments

Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.

Comments Submitted:

01-12-2024

Jay Pea [Save Standard Time]

Please oppose HF 498, unless amended to permanent Standard Time as proposed in amendment H1125. Iowa and most states rejected permanent Daylight Saving Time (fast time) when it was last mandated by Congress in 1974. Permanent Standard Time (natural time) instead previously lasted for decades, and it is federally approved. Permanent DST would delay sunrise in Iowa past 8am (when most school/work begins) for three to four months, as late as 8:58am (see attached map for more locations). Permanent Standard Time instead would end clock change without delaying sunrise.Permanent DSTs dark mornings, forced early waking, and chronic sleep loss cost lives and disrupted business when last tried in 1974 (see also attached historical news clippings).The Uniform Time Act (15 USC 260a) permits only permanent Standard Time as the way to end clock change (as is done in Arizona, Hawaii, and all five US territories). Permanent DST is federally forbidden thanks to our state (I am from Iowa) and others fighting against it in decades past.Dozens of nonprofits and hundreds of doctors, teachers, religious leaders, and journalists on both the right and left oppose permanent DST and endorse permanent Standard Time. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recently renewed their position statement, which is endorsed by 20 other groups (please see attached for endorsers).I would be glad to discuss by email, phone, zoom, or in person at your convenience.

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01-12-2024

A Skelton []

I may not actually live in Iowa, but I work and shop there. It would be best for all residents of Iowa and their neighbors across the Mississippi to be on permanent Standard Time. Please do all in your power to make it so.

01-15-2024

Karin Johnson [Coalition For Permanent Standard Time]

NO on H498, YES on H1125As a sleep medicine physician and cochair for the coalition for Permanent Standard Time, I urge you to vote NO on H498, YES on H1125.Permanent standard time aligns clocks closest to sun time naturally aligning our circadian rhythms with our daily activities. This is best for physical and mental health, education, workplace productivity and safety and road safety. It is already approved by the federal government so is the quickest way to end clock change. Permanent daylight saving time has been tried twice before in the US and quickly became unpopular. In Iowa permanent daylight saving time would lead to almost 3 1/2 months with sunrises after 8 AM depriving Iowans on critical morning light. While ending clock change would reduce short term risks in the days after the spring clock change, ending it with permanent daylight saving time is more harmful than the status quo. Permanent daylight saving time leads to higher rates or depression and the later sunrises and sunsets are associated with more obesity, heart disease, cancer, fatal car crashes, and suicides. Heating and cooling costs increase with permanent daylight saving time. Standardized test scores are lower with daylight saving time. Permanent standard time is endorsed by the American Medical Association, American Academy of Neurology, American Thoracic Society, National Safety Council, National Parent Teacher Association and others. It is endorsed by religious groups whose prayer times are affected by the sun. The coalition of permanent standard time is a collaboration of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, Society for Research on Biological Rhythms, Sleep Research Society, Save Standard Time and National Sleep Foundation. To learn more you can watch the Science of Clock Change series available on You Tube or at savestandardtime.com. Karin Johnson, MD, FAAN, FAASMProfessor, Department of Neurology, UMASS Chan School of MedicineBaystateCoChair, Coalition for Permanent Standard TimeVice President, Save Standard TimeSleep Section Chair, American Academy of Neurology4132145578

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01-15-2024

Matthew Jordan [Lincoln-Way Community High School District 210]

I urge you to amend this bill to Permanent STANDARD Time. This bill has the potential to impact my state, as well as family members who live in Iowa (Decatur and Monroe Counties) and those along the border working on either side of the river. This bill will delay sunrise until nearly 9am in the dark of winter. That is unsafe for children walking to, or waiting on buses for school which usually begins around 8am (earlier in some places). It is unsafe for highway workers and others working outdoors without morning light. Sleep scientists have proven over and over again that humans need more light in the morning. It helps with waking and alertness. Consider for yourself, which is easier for waking uppitch darkness or at least emerging light if not full blown sun. People are healthier when their activities are more closely aligned to solar time, and the morning and afternoons are more closely divided by noonDaylight Savings Time distorts all of this. I too wish that there was more light remaining after work in the winter, but that is a matter dictated by nature. By keeping morning light, it is likely we can restore the old standard workday of 8 to 4 (preWorld War I) rather than the distorted 95 we have now which leaves little light after work. When Permanent DST was attempted in 1974, nationally, it was deemed a mistake so quickly that Congress repealed it before even making it through an entire year's cycle (not to mention that there were children struck by vehicles in the predawn darkness on their way to school). The wisest, healthiest option is to enact Permanent STANDARD Time. I, again, urge you to amend this bill for health and safety, to enact Permanent STANDARD Time.

01-16-2024

Scott Geisler [Physicians' Clinic of Iowa Sleep Medicine]

I strongly encourage you to vote AGAINST this bill. As a Sleep Medicine physician practicing in Cedar Rapids since 2003 I do not want my patients or my family to be forced to experience almost 3.5 months of sunrises after 8 AM in Iowa which is what permanent Daylight Savings Time would bring. I do strongly encourage you to vote FOR Amendment H1125 to support permanent Standard Time in Iowa, as I see the time changes from Daylight Savings Time causing avoidable harm to many of my patients twice each year from the time changes. This position is consistent with the American Academy of Sleep Medicine guideline published in October of 2023; you can learn more here:https://sleepeducation.org/resources/daylightsavingtime/Thanks,Scott Geisler MD

01-16-2024

Smita Patel []

Theres no question that losing that hour in the spring has a health impact. Many report feeling jet lagged for days after the time change. Some people are negatively affected by the switch to daylight saving time for days, or even weeks. Thats because it alters the circadian rhythm. This sleepwake cycle is regulated partly through the hormone melatonin which is activated by light.Yet it not only means potentially sacrificing an hour of slumber. There is a link between the spring time change and an increase in strokes, cardiovascular episodes and auto accidents.In addition, experts estimate the biannual time change costs the United States around $430 million every year (8). The increase in heart attacks, workplace injuries, and lowered productivity all account for the added costs. There are even other studies reporting the adverse consequence of the time change impacting student test scores (1) to stock market returns(2).We may find it easier to save lives and money rather than chase the daylight.#savestandardtimeOppose bill HF 498 (permanent Daylight Saving Time) and support amendment H1125 (permanent Standard Time) in Iowa Thank you,Smita PatelReferences:1. Gaski, J. F., & Sagarin, J. (2011). Detrimental effects of daylightsaving time on SAT scores. Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, 4(1), 4453. https://doi.org/10.1037/a00201182. Kamstra, Mark, J., Lisa A. Kramer, and Maurice D. Levi. 2000. "Losing Sleep at the Market: The Daylight Saving Anomaly." American Economic Review, 90 (4): 10051011.

01-16-2024

Marla Shapiro [Independent Brain Health Consultants, PLLC]

This is not a controversial topic with lots of data on both sides rather, the scientific evidence is crystalclear. Permanent Standard Time benefits everyone. I have heard that some legislators or lobbyists support this bill because farmers benefit from extra daylight. However, thats not true on a few levels. First, farmers work depends on the sun, not the clock. With yearround DST, the sun simply rises later in clock hours wed no more experience extra daylight with permanent DST than one can lengthen a blanket by cutting off the top strip and sewing it along the bottom edge. Farmers would actually be spending more early morning work hours in the dark vs. daylight, with extended daylight hours in the evenings prolonging peak wakefulness hours into later evening hours, too. Moreover, research shows that standard time is better for our health. Human biology is regulated in part by our internal circadian rhythms, which are also impacted by light/dark cycles in nature. When we change the clocks, it literally and directly impacts our physical and cognitive functioning. When the clock springs forward into DST, there are more car accidents and more ER visits. Morning sunlight is essential for mood regulation, especially during the shorter days of winter. Any mental health advocates touting DST vs. standard time are not, unfortunately, familiar with the body of medical research unequivocally demonstrating that's simply not true.Teen mental health will suffer more. Our teens are in crisis already. Research also demonstrates the strong connection between adolescent mental health and inadequate sleep. This is why national medical and educational organizations are advocating for later school start times. By forcing teens to wake up earlier relative to their bodies natural rhythms, over/above safetyrelated concerns of waiting for busses and walking or driving to school in the dark, we further jeopardize our students mental and physical health, performance, and learning. Let's not change our clocks twice/year. It's not good for farmers, our health, or our safety. Let's stick to standard time. It's the natural way our world works.