By: Jeff Beach (North Dakota Monitor)
North Dakotans will keep changing their clocks twice a year.
The state Senate on Monday voted 32-15 to defeat House Bill 1259 that would have eliminated seasonal time changes.
Just before the vote to kill the bill, it was amended to put North Dakota on year-round daylight saving time.
The original bill called for year-round standard time, which passed the House 55-37.
Supporters of using daylight saving time cited advantages for evening recreation and construction. Some construction projects are not allowed to start before 7 a.m.
There also were concerns in border cities with North Dakota being on a different time than its neighbors.
The bill was amended to take effect only when neighboring states also had dropped the time change.
Sen. Michael Dwyer, R-Bismarck, argued against the bill, saying that if Congress or a neighboring state makes a change, to leave the decision up to future lawmakers.
