This Sunday is the bi-annual time change, but some federal politicians are hoping it’s the final one as they want to make daylight saving time permanent.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, which, surprise, passed the Senate last year by a unanimous vote but was not put to a vote in the House.
The bill would eliminate the changing of clocks and “if enacted, the U.S. would not ‘fall back’ in November and would enjoy a full year of DST, instead of only eight months,” according to a fact sheet on the bill.
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) introduced companion legislation in the House.
It’s unclear if Congress will take up the legislation again but both bills have been referred to committees. The offices of Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy did not immediately return a request for comment.
Flashback: Daylight saving time used to run from April to October but the Energy Policy Act of 2005 extended DST by approximately four weeks from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November.
Lose an hour Sunday with time change
The big picture: The official time switch is 2 am local time Sunday — clocks are set forward one hour meaning we “lose” an hour — as daylight saving time returns after four months of standard time.
Sunrise and sunset will be about one hour later Sunday than on Saturday.
Hawaii and Arizona do not observe daylight saving time with the exception of the Navajo Nation in northeastern Arizona.
If federal legislation is not approved, clocks will “fall back” to standard time on Sunday, Nov. 5.
Why it matters: Health groups have called for an end to the seasonal shifting of clocks, a ritual first adopted in the U.S. more than a century ago.
