- Almost all states have considered ending daylight saving time.
- States cannot switch to permanent daylight saving time until federal law changes.
- The federal law to end daylight saving time has already passed the Senate, but is awaiting a vote in the House.
Americans are tired of losing an hour of sleep every year due to daylight saving time.
Lawmakers in nearly every state have considered laws that would eliminate daylight saving time since 2019, according to a new report. National Conference of State Legislatures a report.
In 2022, the American Medical Association called for… End of daylight saving timeSaying that it can take months for the human body to adapt to a new sleep cycle after losing an hour in the morning.
About 62% of Americans would prefer to eliminate the need to change their clocks twice a year, according to A Study from YouGova UK-based polling service.
Among Americans surveyed, 50% said they would prefer to maintain permanent daylight saving time, with the sun rising and setting later. Meanwhile, only 31% preferred to keep standard time permanently.
However, states switching to permanent daylight saving time would require changing federal law.
The Uniform Time Act, passed in 1966, allows states to opt out of daylight saving time and observe standard time year-round, but the law does not allow states to observe permanent daylight saving time.
Hawaii and Arizona are the only states that adhere to standard time year-round.
State legislatures across the country have considered more than 650 different laws that would establish daylight saving time year-round once federal law allows it, according to NCSL.
the Sun Protection Act of 2021, — which aims to move the United States to permanent daylight saving time — unexpectedly passed through the Senate in March 2022 by a unanimous vote. The bill was resubmitted to the House of Representatives last year, but was not put to a vote.
Rep. Marco Rubio and Rep. Vern Buchanan, both of Florida, are sponsoring the bill in the House.
“Changing our clocks twice a year is inconvenient and completely unnecessary,” Buchanan said in an article. launch. “It is time to end this ancient practice.”
The state legislatures of Maine, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Utah have passed permanent daylight saving time bills that will go into effect. Implementation if federal law changes, according to the report. California voters also approved a similar ballot initiative in 2018.
Lawmakers have also considered or are considering similar laws this year in Alaska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. , according to the report.
