- Almost every state is considering ending daylight saving time.
- States cannot switch to permanent daylight saving time until federal law changes.
- Federal legislation to eliminate daylight saving time has already been passed by the Senate, but awaits a vote in the House.
Americans are tired of losing an hour of sleep each year due to daylight saving time.
Lawmakers in nearly every state have considered legislation to abolish daylight saving time since 2019, according to a report from the National Conference of State Legislatures.
The American Medical Association has called for an end to daylight saving time in 2022, saying that losing an hour of morning time could take months for the human body to adjust to a new sleep cycle.
About 62% of Americans would like to avoid having to change their clocks twice a year, according to a survey by UK-based polling service YouGov.
Fifty percent of Americans polled said they wanted to maintain permanent daylight saving time, which slows sunrise and sunset. Meanwhile, only 31% wanted to maintain a permanent standard time.
Still, changes to federal law would be required for states to switch to permanent daylight saving time.
Although the Uniform Time Act, passed in 1966, allows states to observe standard time year-round without observing daylight saving time, the law does not allow states to observe permanent daylight saving time. not.
Hawaii and Arizona are the only states that use standard time year-round.
According to NCSL, state legislatures across the country are considering more than 650 different laws that would establish year-round daylight savings time if federal law allows it.
The Sunshine Protection Act of 2021, aimed at moving the United States to permanent daylight saving time, unexpectedly passed the Senate unanimously in March 2022. The bill was reintroduced to the House last year, but has not yet been voted on.
Congressman Marco Rubio and Congressman Vern Buchanan, both of Florida, are introducing the bill in the House.
“Changing clocks twice a year is inconvenient and completely unnecessary,” Buchanan said in the release. “It's time to end this outdated practice.”
Maine, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana, Minnesota, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Washington The state legislature in Utah has already passed a permanent daylight saving time bill. The report said any changes to federal law would be implemented. California voters also approved a similar ballot initiative in 2018.
Lawmakers are considering or considering similar bills 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. be. , according to the report.
