Federal law does allow states to remain in standard time all year, but they must first get approval from Congress before making daylight saving time permanent.
Nineteen states have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to make daylight saving time year-round. The switch, however, would require a change to federal law, according to a published report.
Federal law does allow states to remain in standard time all year, but they must first get approval from Congress before making daylight savings time permanent, a report said.
The 19 states that have introduced legislation are Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, Wyoming, Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, Florida, and California, USA Today reported.
Jim Reed of the National Conference of State Legislatures wrote on the National Conference of State Legislatures website that although "opinions remain mixed on the benefits of permanent daylight time versus permanent standard time," he said, "states continue to vote in favor of year-round DST as the new normal."
In this year’s legislative session, Reed said six states have enacted measures to make daylight saving time year-round, the news outlet reported.
Daylight saving time was first enacted by the federal government on March 19, 1918, during World War I, as a way to conserve coal.
In 1966, it became federal law with the passage of the Uniform Act. This act established daylight saving time beginning on the last Sunday of April through the last Sunday of October. After one change in 1987, the period was further extended in 2007, pushing it to the first Sunday of November, USA Today previously reported.
The only power individual states or territories have under the act is to opt-out of daylight saving time, putting them on standard time permanently. Arizona, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands are the individual states and territories that practice this, a report said.
The U.S. Department of Transportation is in charge of time in the U.S., including time zones and daylight saving time.
According to the DOT, daylight saving time saves energy. The premise was that since the sun sets one hour later, it was presumed that people would use less electricity for lights and appliances and instead spend more time outside, USA Today previously reported.
The DOT explained that daylight saving times saves lives, prevents traffic injuries, and reduce crime. However, sleep experts believe the health effects of losing sleep obscures the value.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida has been instrumental in the debate over daylight savings time. His 2019 Sunshine Protection Act was an effort to keep daylight savings time year-round instead of the current eight months.
Daylight saving time will come to an end on Sunday, which means it is time to set your clocks one hour behind.
