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Congress has moved to make daylight saving time a permanent fixture, meaning the biannual time change could become a thing of the past.
Yesterday (July 14), the US House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act which would make the summertime daylight savings year-round, eradicating the ‘fall back’ of the clock in the autumn.
So, what does this mean in real terms for US states? First off, the US would not switch back to standard time in the fall and instead, clocks would stay an hour ahead for 12 months of the year.
This will mean a major change for most states, as currently only Hawaii and most of Arizona only stick to one time all year.
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Many people are in favor of the change, citing that it will reduce sleep disruption associated witht the clocks changing, and offer more daylight in the evening for free time after work.
However, not everyone is onboard, with some arguing that in the winter, the sun won’t rise until after 9am in some states, and darker mornings could also mean a less safe commute to work and school.
Just because the bill has been passed by the House of Representatives doesn’t mean that it will automatically become law.
The bill will now head to the Senate where it will also need to be passed before going to the president.
Only once signed by the president would the bill become US law.
This isn’t the first time that the US government has attempted to make this law a reality.
Back in 2022, a similar version of the bill was passed by the Senate but it was never voted on by the House of Representatives.
Back in 1974, the US actually attempted the concept of introducing a year-round daylight saving time but it ultimately didn’t work out due to people complaining about the dark winter mornings. The ended up with Congress repealing the act.
President Donald Trump has shown his support for the change on social media, writing on his own platform Truth Social: “Big Vote today (48-1!) in the Energy and Commerce Committee on a Bill including The Sunshine Protection Act, which will be making Daylight Saving Time Permanent! This is so important in that Hundreds of Millions of Dollars are spent every year by people, Cities, and States, being forced to change their Clocks. Many of these Clocks are located in Towers, and the cost of renting, or using, Heavy Equipment to do this twice a year is prohibitive!”
