Current:Home > reviewsPermanent daylight saving time? Politicians keep trying to make it a reality. -Financial Clarity Guides
Permanent daylight saving time? Politicians keep trying to make it a reality.
Robert Brown View
Date:2025-04-08 03:40:52
Americans are yet again preparing for the twice-yearly ritual of adjusting the clocks by an hour, and a group of politicians are sick of it.
Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio have used the upcoming time change to remind Americans about the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act the U.S. Senate unanimously passed in 2022 to make daylight saving time permanent. The bill was reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in 2023. Scott said in Friday a release the bill is supported by both lawmakers and Americans.
"It’s time for Congress to act and I’m proud to be leading the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act with Senator Rubio to get this done," Scott said.
Most Americans - 62% - are in favor of ending the time change, according to an Economist/YouGov poll from last year.
To Change or Not to Change:Do Americans like daylight saving time? 6 in 10 want to stop changing their clocks. Do you?
Only Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation), Hawaii and the U.S. territories follow standard time yearound. In the rest of the country, standard time runs from the first Sunday of November until the second Sunday of March. But clocks spring forward an hour from March to November to allow for more daylight during summer evenings.
Federal law prevents states from following daylight saving time permanently.
Rubio's bill failed to make it to President Joe Biden's desk in 2022. Florida Rep. Vern Buchanan, R- Brandon, introduced the act in the House last March for the current congressional session.
"We’re ‘springing forward’ but should have never ‘fallen back.’ My Sunshine Protection Act would end this stupid practice of changing our clocks back and forth," Rubio said in a Tuesday release.
Time change bills across America
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 28 bills have been introduced this year regarding daylight saving time and 36 carried over from the previous legislative session.
About two dozen states are considering enacting permanent daylight saving time if Congress allowed such a change. Twenty other states have legislation under consideration to have permanent standard time.
Several states, NCSL said, have legislation dependent on their neighbors following the same time change.
We've tried this before, and it didn't go well
Daylight saving time was made official in 1918 when the Standard Time Act became law, but it was quickly reversed at the national level after World War I ended, only coming up again when World War II began. Since then, Americans have tried eliminating the biannual time change, but it didn't last long.
From February 1942 until September 1945, the U.S. took on what became known as "War Time," when Congress voted to make daylight saving time year-round during the war in an effort to conserve fuel. When it ended, states were able to establish their own standard time until 1966 when Congress finally passed the Uniform Time Act, standardizing national time and establishing current-day daylight saving time.
Most recently, amid an energy crisis in 1973, former President Richard Nixon signed a bill putting the U.S. on daylight saving time starting in January 1974. While the American public at first liked the idea, soon "the experiment ... ran afoul of public opinion," The New York Times reported in October 1974. Sunrises that could be as late as 9:30 a.m. some places in parts of winter became increasingly unpopular. It didn't take long for Congress to reverse course in October 1974.
Today, the public seems ready for another change, fed up with disruptions to sleep and routines, which research has suggested can contribute to health issues and even safety problems. For now, prepare to reset your clocks, and your sleep schedules, once again this Sunday.
Contributing: Celina Tebor, Emily DeLetter USA TODAY; USA TODAY Network-Florida
veryGood! (7113)
Related
- Trump issues order to ban transgender troops from serving openly in the military
- Intimidated by Strength Training? Here's How I Got Over My Fear of the Weight Room
- Alabama's Nick Saban deserves to be seen as the greatest coach in college football history
- Trump speaks at closing arguments in New York fraud trial, disregarding limits
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Alabama prisoners' bodies returned to families with hearts, other organs missing, lawsuit claims
- 'Devastating case': Endangered whale calf maimed by propeller stirs outrage across US
- These Best Dressed Stars at the Emmys Deserve a Standing Ovation for Their Award-Worthy Style
- 'Most Whopper
- Flurry of Houthi missiles, drones fired toward Red Sea shipping vessels, Pentagon says
Ranking
- 'Survivor' 47 finale, part one recap: 2 players were sent home. Who's left in the game?
- Virginia woman wins $1 million in lottery raffle after returning from vacation
- What do you think of social media these days? We want to hear your stories
- Summer House Trailer: See the Dramatic Moment Carl Radke Called Off Engagement to Lindsay Hubbard
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Lake Powell Is Still in Trouble. Here’s What’s Good and What’s Alarming About the Current Water Level
- Puppy Bowl assistant referee will miss calls. Give her a break, though, she's just a dog!
- Retired Arizona prisons boss faces sentencing on no-contest plea stemming from armed standoff
Recommendation
Highlights from Trump’s interview with Time magazine
Can the US handle more immigration? History and the Census suggest the answer is yes.
Ranking NFL playoff teams by viability: Who's best positioned to reach Super Bowl 58?
Top UN court opens hearings on South Africa’s allegation that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza
Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
Ship in Gulf of Oman boarded by ‘unauthorized’ people as tensions are high across Mideast waterways
Speaker Johnson is facing conservative pushback over the spending deal he struck with Democrats
Scientists discover 350,000 mile tail on planet similar to Jupiter