Current News and Policy Updates Regarding Daylight Saving Time
Despite a lot of Americans being opposed to being required the need to “spring forward” and “fall back” every year, all indications point to a continuation of the twice-yearly changes in clocks. There are no legislative changes in the federal government to daylight saving time (DST) were enacted this year, which means clocks will be reset on the 3rd of November, which falls on a Sunday.
Federal law forbids states from converting to permanent the use of daylight saving time. The changes to federal law, such as legislation known as the Sunshine Protection Act, stalled in 2023, and have not yet been put to an election in 2024.
Legislators from many U.S. states have introduced legislation to end clock-related changes. In almost every state there’s been no momentum in 2024, as the majority of bills have been rebuffed or put on hold in committees.
Oklahoma is the only exception. On April 20, 2024, the legislature of Oklahoma approved and the governor signed an act that would “lock the clock” to daylight saving time within the state following the enactment by any law of the federal government that allows states to implement permanent DST.
What Is the Sunshine Protection Act?
The Sunshine Protection Act Source is a bill that has been regularly introduced in the U.S. Senate by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) also introduced it in the House of Representatives Trusted Source View Source in March 2023. The bill would create an ongoing daylight savings time all over the country. In accordance with the bill’s provisions, there will be no changes to the clocks between the seasons of spring and autumn.
The Sunshine Protection Act has yet to be introduced to Congress in 2024. The bill’s versions presented in 2023 are in committee and have not seen any recent activities.
Arizona, Hawaii, and U.S. territories already following the standard time of permanent use are exempt from the requirements of the law. The states and territories will remain in the current method of a permanent standard time. Any other state that had adopted standard time as a permanent system prior to it was the time that the Sunshine Protection Act became law could also be exempt.
The effect of the law will be the most evident between November and March, in the time that clocks would normally be in normal time. In general daylight saving time, results in less lighting early in the morning. In these months, those with normal school and work schedules would likely start the day with a dark, dingy light.
The effects of the Sunshine Protection Act would vary depending on the location. The amount of daylight available throughout the year is determined by the distance a location is from the Equator. Furthermore, cities that are located in the western regions of each time zone experience longer sunrise times, which could result in less daylight at dawn under the perpetual daylight saving system.
How is the Sunshine Protection Act doing?
As of 2024, there haven’t been developments on the Sunshine Protection Act by the U.S. Congress. In March 2024 Senator Rubio confirmed his support for the bill however, no formal action has been taken.
The bill hasn’t advanced since it was submitted to committees in both the House as well as the Senate at the beginning of March 2023. In order to be passed the bill would have to receive a majority vote within both House and Senate and be ratified by the President.
In March of 2022 2022, the Sunshine Protection Act passed the Senate by a unique process known as unanimous consent. The vote was not formalized however, after the legislation was first introduced the Senate did not object to its adoption. A companion bill that was introduced in the House did not make it out of committee. So it was not a success. Sunshine Protection Act ran out of steam and didn’t become law.
How Far Along Are Changes to State-Level Policies?
A number of states have thought about legislation on daylight saving time for 2024. However, only Oklahoma has adopted legislation. In other states, bills have either failed to be passed or have been delayed in committee.
In the state of Oklahoma, Senate Bill 1200 was approved by both chambers of the state legislature. It was then signed into law by the governor. In the legislation, Oklahoma would be able to switch to a permanent daylight saving system when the policy is permitted under federal law.
In other states, a variety of law changes have been promoted and some states have laws that are competing. Examples of proposed changes to policies include:
- Implementing a permanent standard time
- The enactment of a permanent daylight saving schedule subject to a change in federal law that allows this type of policy
- Making a clock change conditional on a similar policy being implemented by states that are neighboring
- A statewide referendum on daylight saving time
- The commissioning of a study to look at the effects of standard time or daylight saving time.
Although only Oklahoma’s law has been approved this year, many states have already reformed their laws in previous years.
Why Isn’t the US Eliminating Clock Changes Already?
There is no one reason why clock changes haven’t been removed already. While surveys indicate the fact that changes to clocks are controversial, there isn’t a consensus as to whether permanent standard time or daylight saving is the most effective alternative. With opposing views on both sides, it’s not easy for legislators to gain the support of both approaches.
Additionally, a change to federal law can be a lengthy process which has served to keep this system.
Regarding Daylight Saving Time, What Do Experts Say?
Experts from a variety of disciplines have shared their thoughts on the issue of daylight saving time. Although the majority of sleep scientists favor the standard time to be permanent, many business and economic experts prefer the idea of a permanent daylight savings time.
The effects of daylight and standard time-saving time on issues such as sleep, mental and physical health, and car accidents, as well as the consumption of energy, crime economic activity, and school performance.
After having reviewed all the research, there are groups of experts in sleep such as those of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech InformationThe National Center for Biotechnology Information improves health and science by giving access to biomedical as well as genomic data. View Source has insistently argued that the potential negative health consequences of AASM warrant the need for a permanent regular time.
By 2023 AASM established 2023 the Alliance for a Permanent Standard Time composed of a variety of individuals and organizations. The group is in favor of the implementation of a standard permanent time across the nation. By 2024 AASM together with the group have reaffirmed their call in favor of a halt to the practice of daylight saving time.
Supporting the idea of permanent daylight savings time experts suggest that more daylight in the evening can improve public safety, enhance commercial and social activity, and decrease the use of electricity.
While researchers continue to investigate the subject, new research publications are small. Recent research isn’t likely to alter the nature of the public’s policymaking.
What Do People Think About Daylight Saving Time and Clock Changes?
Recent polls have revealed that more than 60% of the population wants to stop biannual clock changes. A survey in 2023 found that health and safety were the most often cited as the most important priority when it comes to the guiding principles for policy choices about change in clocks. The Trusted Source American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) AASM sets standards and advocates for excellence in the field of sleep medicine health as well as education and research.
Many polls indicate that permanent daylight saving time is more popular than permanent regular time. However, experts point out that the results of polls may differ greatly based on how questions are formulated and the time of how the survey is carried out.
Furthermore, the results of polls don’t always reflect respondents who have stated their priorities. For instance, the results of a YouGov survey that was conducted in the month of March 2023 found that most people prefer light during the morning. However, in this same poll, a majority of people favored the idea of making daylight saving time a permanent feature even though it could cause less daylight in the morning and more sunlight later in the evening.
Why Was Daylight Saving Time Initiated?
The U.S. started daylight saving time in 1918. It was later able to implemented and repealed numerous times. It was initially designed to cut down on energy use and to encourage commerce. In 1966, the Uniform Time Act of 1966 created the current system to switch between normal time and daylight savings time.
The concept of permanent daylight savings time was employed to reduce energy consumption during wartime from 1918 to 1919 and from 1942 until 1945. It was also used to save energy during the war years of 1942 until 1945. The U.S. also experimented with perpetual daylight saving time from January 1974, in the midst of a growing oil crisis. It ended in the fall of 1974 due to the displeasure of the public of the Trusted The Washington Post View Source The Washington Post View Source of the darker mornings.
Is It Likely That We Will Quit Changing the Clocks?
According to most reports, changes to the biannual clocks and the introduction of a permanent daytime saving at a federal scale are not likely shortly. Although the issue has received more attention from the media and Congress in recent times, there’s significant disagreement over policies that, for the moment being, may be challenging to resolve.