Time to Spring forward

Whether you like the idea or not, it’s that time of the year for us to adjust our clocks to Daylight Saving Time (DST) and we gain additional sunlight for the next eight months. 

The official time for daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. Sunday, but you are reminded to move your clocks one hour forward before retiring for the night on Saturday.

The act of following Daylight Saving Time was enacted from a provision by Congress in 1918 that called for nationwide daylight saving.

Following a model of European laws that was designed to save energy during World War I, the practice only lasted one year in the U.S. and was was appealed due to protests from farmers.

In the years to follow, many states began utilizing the Act and in 1966, the Uniform Time Act was introduced to set standardized dates of when DST would begin and end each year. The Uniform Time Act forbade permanent year-round daylight saving time. 

In 1974, the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act was enacted that allowed states to follow year-round DST for a two-year experimental period. 

However, the experiment only lasted about 10 months because it was not favored by the public primarily due to concerns of dark winter mornings. 

As a result, states, with the exception of Arizona and Hawaii, continued to practice   the twice-per-year switch in times as Americans gained an hour of daylight in the Spring and returned to standard time in the Fall.

In 2005, U.S. Congress approved the Energy Policy Act and since 2007, the practice of gaining an additional hour of daylight has started on the second Sunday in March with it ending on the first Sunday in November.

Over the past 10 years there have been at least 30 states who have passed resolutions asking the government to abolish the annual switch in times.

The debate continued this past year (2022) when Senator Marco Rubio of Florida introduced the Sunshine Protection Act. 

The bill was sponsored by a bipartisan group of Senators that called for permanent year-round daylight savings time unless specific states chose to opt out of it.

The bill unanimously passed by voice vote in the Senate, and although it has drawn support from conservatives, liberals, and moderates, it also faces opposition from those who believe the darker mornings in the winter could pose safety issues. 

When introduced in the House of Representatives, the Act only made into a committee hearing, but never reached the floor for a vote.

Due to the House not voting on the bill, it never reached the president’s desk and as a result expired in the last congressional session.

Today as Congress meets in its 118th Congressional session, Sen. Rubio has reintroduced the bill of making daylight saving time permanent across the country.

He feels the bill would bring an end to changing clocks twice a year  

Rubio’s hope is that the bill will pass in the Senate and House and if it does would  be sent to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. 

If signed, the Sunshine Protection Act would set daylight saving time to year-round starting this year in November.

It would mean an end to falling back to standard time. 

However, all remains to be seen whether the bill passes or fails in Congress or is signed by the president.

If it does not go through,  then we will remain with the practice and will change back to standard time on Sunday, Nov. 5, and we will continue the ritual of Spring Forward and Fall Back.

Remember to adjust your clocks, it’s also a good standard practice to swap batteries in your home’s smoke detectors. And as long as we’re still changing the clocks, we may as well check those too for good measure, as these devices can save your life.