The issue of a permanent time switch came up in the Arkansas Legislature last year.
Rep. Johnny Rye, R-Trumann, submitted House Bill 1017, which would have made daylight saving time permanent in Arkansas -- but only after all the surrounding states had done so as well and the secretary of state had determined the federal government allowed the change.
The bill passed the House by a vote of 71-5 in February 2021. But then it "got hung up in a Senate committee," Rye said Wednesday. "It takes five [votes] to get a bill through and I could only get four."
Rye said he may resubmit the bill later this year for the incoming Legislature to consider.
He said he doesn't "see any downside at all" to a permanent switch.
"I think it's better for us, especially for kids that get out of school late in the evening, where it's not dark when they get home, and also folks that get home or want to do some chores around the yard and things like that," said Rye.
"The main thing was when ladies get off work at 5 o'clock in the evening, and when it's dark, that's more dangerous. That's mainly it right there," he said.