OKLAHOMA CITY – Oklahomans will fall back an hour Sunday morning, and they're scheduled still to spring forward an hour March 9, 2025. This is because of the Legislature's refusal to adopt meaningful legislation on daylight saving time, according to Rep. Kevin West, R-Moore. West has authored several bills that would send to a vote of the people a question on whether to adopt permanent standard time in Oklahoma, stopping the twice-yearly time change. The measures have not advanced through the legislative process. Instead, last session, the Legislature passed and the governor signed into law Senate Bill 1200. The measure specifies that should a federal law ever authorize states to observe daylight saving time year-round, Oklahoma shall adopt it as the year-round standard of time. "This is a terrible idea and a do-nothing law," West said. "We tried this in the past and had to petition the federal government to repeal it because of the problems caused by it remaining dark until after 8 a.m. in the winter." West said in 1974 the entire nation was mandated to go to daylight saving time. In the winter of 1974, several states, including Oklahoma, petitioned the federal government to end it after complaints of children going to school in the dark and employees starting the work day before the sun rose. The act ultimately was repealed in 1975. Federal law allows states to be on standard time year-round. Arizona, Hawaii and most U.S. territories currently do this. The law requires states that wish to adopt daylight saving time year-round to ask permission from the government to do so, but so far the federal government has not granted any of these requests. West also pointed out that the Sunshine Protection Act in Congress would require states to be on daylight saving time year-round. The act would allow states to not participate only if they take legislative action to do so. The act has not passed. States that choose not to opt out of daylight saving time are required to set their clocks forward an hour at 2 a.m. the second Sunday of March each year and back an hour at 2 a.m. the first Sunday of November. "I've heard from numerous constituents, parents and business owners over the course of my legislative service that there is a strong desire to stop the changing of the clocks," West said. "The only way to accomplish that is to switch to permanent standard time. I've proposed several measures that would accomplish this, but we must have the legislative boldness to put this question before Oklahomans." West has studied the issue in detail. In a previous legislative study, he invited experts to discuss the science of time change and the detriments of changing the clock twice yearly. The U.S. Congress first implemented daylight saving time through the Standard Time Act in 1918 during World War I as a way to "add" more daylight hours to conserve energy. The act also established five time zones across the U.S. The Uniform Time Act in 1966 mandated the country use daylight saving time but allowed states to opt out and to stay on standard time year-round. The thought behind daylight saving time is that by setting the clocks back an hour in November, more daylight time is gained in the early mornings. When an hour is added in March, more daylight is gained in the evenings. West said there are additional concerns such as health-related risks, increased auto accidents and work-related injuries that rise when daylight comes after people start their day. West said he's received an enormous amount of positive feedback from Oklahomans who support not having to change the clock twice yearly, specifically noting the time it takes to adjust to the change. West said he'll keep pushing for legislation to put the question before state voters.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Reps. Eddy Dempsey, R-Valliant, and Justin Humphrey, R-Lane, on Wednesday held an interim study on the Kiamichi River in Southeast Oklahoma before the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Dempsey and Humphrey said the study was conducted to address Southeastern Oklahoma citizens who have expressed serious concerns about a hydro-power plant being proposed at the Kiamichi River. "Southeast Oklahoma Power Corporation is alleged to have threatened over 500 landowners with eminent domain and plans to remove these landowners to complete their project," Humphrey said. "The study reviewed potential effects of this project on the river, wildlife and landowners and revealed why there is such incredible opposition to this project." Dempsey said the plant is being proposed on one of the state's most beautiful rivers and would not even benefit Oklahoma, but instead would benefit only Texas. He said current drought conditions make the project even more unfeasible. "Southeast Oklahoma is my love and my passion," Dempsey said. "I was born and raised here. My family came over on the Trail of Tears. The mountains, woods and waters there mean the world to me, and I will do everything I can to protect them." The two are proposing an impact study be done to address concerns over additional use of the river. Tye Baker and Ahndria Ablett, both with the Choctaw Nation, shared the economic and environmental impact of the river and it's cultural value. The river is a primary source of municipal and industrial water supply for Clayton, Antlers, Hugo and several other rural water districts via Sardis and Hugo lakes. The river contains unique flora and fauna and other invaluable species and is a popular recreational destination, they said. In addition, it's long been essential to the Choctaw Nation's culture and history. According to the terms of the 2016 Tribal-State Water Settlement, the river watershed has special protection as a Class B Basin. The two showed a map of the Kiamichi's watershed area that stretches from the state's southern border near Hugo in Choctaw County up through Atoka, Latimer, Pittsburgh and Pushmataha counties and into Le Flore County. The proposed power plant is on the banks of the river in Pushmataha County, south of Talihina, on a more than 10,000-acre site. Seth Willyard, a vocal opponent of the plant, spoke about prolonged drought that he said has increased average temperatures in Southeast Oklahoma and put a strain on the Kiamichi River Basin. He showed drought periods going back to 2000 that he claims has lowered water levels at Hugo Lake. He also said the river is home to many endangered or threatened species. More than 1,000 Oklahoma residents have submitted protest letters in opposition to this project, Willyard said, including the state's attorney general, the chief of the Choctaw Nation, the governor of the Chickasaw Nation, state legislators, members of Congress, local municipal and county officials, and others. Willyard shared his knowledge of how a closed-loop pumped storage hydropower project would work, which he said would be a net drain on the power grid. He also showed his and others' opposition to such a proposal. He said construction would necessitate the removal of massive amounts of shale and sandstone, the components of which would wash into the river, the sole source of drinking water for the City of Antlers. He also posed that manganese and iron will likely increase in concentration in drinking water supplies as well as halo acetic acids and trihalomethanes. Concerns about the owner of the project, Southeast Power Corporation, also were shared, with Willyard saying it has connections to the Chinese Communist Party. Citizens of the Kiamichi River Valley are leading an effort to permanently protect the river basin and asked for support during Wednesday's study. The Choctaw Nation also is asking for next steps that include ensuring the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission does not allow the Southeast Power Corporation to evade or bypass water settlement requirements. They also want the release of more information about the project, and they would like to see the development of a Kiamichi River Basin Watershed Management Plan as part of an overall sustainable water policy. Zach Quintero with Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co. spoke about the company's role in serving the electric needs of more than 900,000 customers in Oklahoma and Arkansas as well as its membership in the Southwest Power Pool. He also described the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity from the power plant to the end user and showed maps of transmission lines throughout the state. In addition, he explained the role between wholesale and retail electricity generators, resellers and customers. Nels Rodefeld with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation also spoke during the study.
OKLAHOMA CITY – Rep. David Smith, R-Arpelar, last week held an interim study to examine issues surrounding recruiting and retaining volunteer rural firefighters. The packed study was held before the House Public Safety Committee on Oct. 21 at the State Capitol. "Living in rural Oklahoma, I know the importance of rural firefighters," Smith said. "We've got 60 and 70-year-olds fighting fires because we can't get some of the younger people to come up." Smith said rural firefighting is much more than just fighting brush fires. Firefighters are often the first line of defense for home and business owners. He related his own experience of his family's two-story house burning down within a matter of 30 minutes despite the efforts of four rural fire departments. "The only thing they could do by the time they got there was save my outbuildings," Smith said. "To me, since nobody got hurt, and they saved my tools so I could build another house, I was pretty OK with that. But y'all do more than what you're given credit for, and we know it." Smith invited fire coordinators from across the state to participate in the study. Luke Underwood is one of 11 rural fire coordinators from across the state representing 840 rural fire departments – those that serve communities with populations of less than 10,000. Each department faces similar issues, he said, noting the study was necessary and in fact overdue. "The issue of retention is a serious struggle across the state, and I'm not sure the solution other than some type of incentive," he said. "I hate sitting here saying that we have to come up with some type of incentive to get someone to volunteer to be a firefighter, but it's just where we're at. It's not uncommon for these departments to struggle to keep people on their roster and to keep them active." Underwood is in charge of the Caddo District, which includes the seven southeast counties in Oklahoma and 121 fire departments. He said when he started, rural firefighting was more a community effort where everyone pitched in to help their neighbors, and it was a time when 18-year-olds thought it was cool to get to man the fire truck. Now, people are busier with sports and other activities that consume much of their time. He related his own experience in serving as a rural fire coordinator and as a part-time deputy sheriff as well as owning a real estate business with his wife with whom he has three daughters. The family also goes to church twice a week, including school and other activities. "I'm one of the busiest people you'll ever meet in your life," Underwood said. "But I understand that volunteering your time means you're going to have to make sacrifices. It's my opinion that peoples' hearts are different now," Underwood said. He said he's heard talk of expanding retirement eligibility, but he's not sure if it's doable or even the right answer. Rep. Danny Williams, R-Seminole, asked if a $1,000 per month stipend would make a difference, and Underwood said it couldn't hurt as money tends to pique peoples' interest. Ed Barton, the rural fire coordinator for the Eastern Oklahoma Development District (EODD) based in Muskogee, said rural fire departments are struggling financially. For many, the biggest part of their budget comes from annual forestry grants of about $10,000, he said. Another problem is the state adding more training requirements on top of existing volunteers who have had enough, he said. "We're all for training, but we've got to make that training feasible for volunteers," he said. No volunteer is going to drive to Oklahoma City for mandatory training on their own dime, he said. This issue is what sparked the idea for the study. Smith held meetings with rural fire coordinators earlier this year in which several expressed concern about additional mandatory training requirements put on unpaid volunteers. Smith reached out to the state fire marshal for a solution, and the study was a way to further the discussion. Other study presenters included Ernie Moore, retired rural fire coordinator and retired executive director of the EODD; Mark Goeller, state forester and director of forestry services for the Oklahoma Department of Agriculture, Food and Forestry; Clayton Webb, fire chief for Buckhorn; the Oklahoma Fire Chiefs Association; Kyle Ramer with the Jacktown Fire Department in Lincoln County; Sheri Nickel, deputy director of the Oklahoma State Firefighters Association; and Bryan Miller, fire chief for Alva.