Why Arizona doesn't do Daylight Saving Time
TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Sunday, March 8, at 2 a.m. the nation adjusted their clocks to 3 a.m. to start the observation of Daylight Saving Time. But for most of us in Arizona, we just slept in peace and did not lose that hour of sleep. Why is that?
Daylight Saving Time began in 1918 during World War I, to save fuel. But in 1919, Maricopa County (Phoenix) refused to accept the change and observed a different time than the rest of the state.
After years of no daylight-saving in the country, it was reinstated during World War II and brought back permanently in 1966.
Arizona at first began observing the time change, but after one year Arizona lawmakers decided unanimously that we would opt out of the law.
The reason for this is the longer the sun was up at night when everyone was home, the more energy households would use during the hot summers. So Arizona opted out of Daylight Saving Time to cut costs on energy.
The whole state doesn't observe MST at all times of the year. The Navajo Nation does observe MDT during daylight-saving months. But the Hopi Nation - completely surrounded by the Navajo - does not observe Daylight Saving Time.
