This coming Sunday, March 12, time will advance 1 hour.

Daylight Savings Time (DST) was first implemented in the U.S. with the Standard Time Act of 1918, as a temporary wartime measure during WWI in the interest of adding more daylight hours to conserve energy resources. Year-round DST was implemented again during WWII. Then in 1966, the Uniform Time Act was passed and enacted for the winter of 1974, but was repealed a year later, over complaints of children going to school in the dark during the winter months.

Oregonians have been seeking to stay on Daylight Savings Time for several years. In 2019, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown signed a bill that would allow the state to adopt daylight saving time year-round on the condition that California and Washington also passed similar bills and upon approval from U.S. lawmakers.  Washington legislators passed a similar bill in 2019, however, California is the holdout when it comes to passing a permanent daylight-saving time bill.

Sen. Marc Rubio introduced a bill in 2022, the Sunshine Protection Act, which passed the senate unanimously, however, it never made it to the House because lawmakers were prioritizing other issues such as gun violence and reproductive rights. Sen. Rubio recently reintroduced the bill in the Senate, and his efforts have received support from several other senators, including Sen. Wyden.

Reminder: Now is also a great time to replace the batteries in smoke and CO2 detectors.

It was my pleasure to hold a meeting today with Habitat for Humanity volunteers/representatives from Columbia and Washington Counties. Habitat works together with families, local communities, volunteers and partners from around the world so that more people are able to live in affordable and safe homes. Their advocacy efforts focus on policy reform to remove systemic barriers preventing low-income and historically underserved families from accessing adequate, affordable shelter.

Habitat offers plenty of volunteer opportunities, including, but not limited to the following:

• Columbia County HFH
• West Tuality HFH
• RV Care-A-Vanner Program
• Group volunteer opportunities

You can also help Habitat by shopping or donating at one of their Habitat for Humanity ReStores or by purchasing merchandise on the Habitat Sore online.  You can also make financial contributions online.

Lack of affordable housing is an issue for our district.  If you have interest in becoming a Habitat homeowner, visit Apply for a Habitat house to learn more.

My staff and I are here to help you! If you have a problem, question or comment, please feel free to email me at rep.brianstout@oregonlegislature.gov. I do ask you to PLEASE include your phone number and your address. This allows me to call you to follow up or ask any questions I might have. Your address lets me know that you're a constituent. I get hundreds of emails every week, but I always make sure that constituents get top priority. If you'd prefer, you can call us at 503.986.1431.

If you'd like to visit me in Salem, you're always welcome to come by! If you drop by without an appointment, I'll do my best to meet with you, but to ensure that I don't have any other commitments, please call or email first for an appointment. That way I can make sure to give you my undivided attention.

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Thank you so much for this opportunity to be your State Representative.

Sincerely,