Utah Lawmaker Wants Out Of Daylight Saving Program

One Utah lawmaker wants to pull the plug on daylight saving time.

The Deseret News of Salt Lake City reports Republican Rep. Jim Nielson of Bountiful plans legislation that lets Utah opt out of the semiannual changing of the clocks.

Nielson says he’ll offer the proposal during the 2012 legislative session that begins in January.

Under federal law, daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday of March until 2 a.m. and ends the second Sunday of November.

States can opt out of the program, but only Arizona and Hawaii have done so.

Nielson says citizen complaints prompted his proposal. But he says he also considers the program a heavy-handed government mandate.

Utah lawmakers failed to pass a similar bill in 2010.