Journalist: Sydni Callaway (OSU)
Reps. Miklaucic-Payne and Lim (OU) are proposing OU-508, a bill intended to keep breakfast during all hours of operation. The bill also proposes that breakfast shall not be discontinued prematurely “regardless of inconvenience, egg shortage, or employee reluctance.” On the topic of all day breakfast, many can think of the time when McDonalds discontinued all day breakfast.
The discontinuation of all day breakfast at McDonalds happened right at the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. Reduced menus and hours became frequent during this time, and many thought that the full menus would come back after the pandemic was declared over. However, that was not the case for McDonalds.
Many rush to get to McDonalds early in the morning before breakfast ends at 10:30 a.m. Customers await in line, which sometimes can take forever before getting to order. When arriving at the ordering station, and it happens to be 10:30 a.m., you will more than likely be told to order off the lunch menu. Customers may become angry—stating that they deserve to order breakfast after arriving before the menu ended and had to wait in line. Especially when they just switched menus, knowing well they are just finishing up the previous breakfast orders and wrapping the last of the McGriddles. Some people even miss the times you could order McDonalds Hotcakes at 3 p.m.
Another impact of breakfast during the pandemic was reducing the Taco Bell breakfast menu, a large favorite amongst many. In October 2024, Taco Bell allowed franchise-owned locations to decide if they want to continue having a breakfast menu at all. This decision impacted me personally, where some mornings I would wake up and want a breakfast crunchwrap but could not get one. Hearing that my local Taco Bell that was open all night discontinued breakfast, I was confused. How could one want a Doritos locos tacos at 7:30 in the morning?
This bill passing is crucial. It mandates that the people get all day breakfast, which is outlined in the name of this act, “THE SACRED RIGHT TO BREAKFAST” Act of 2026.