WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed the Sunshine Protection Act that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent next year across the country, a major priority of Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
The bipartisan measure now heads to the U.S. House for consideration.
Rubio has long advocated for ending the tedious clock-setting and pushed for making Daylight Saving Time year-round nationwide. In other words, we'd switch once and then stay there. There'd be no more changing the clocks twice a year going forward.
The bill still needs to pass the House and be signed by President Joe Biden to become law.
"I'm hoping that, after today, this will go over to the House — they'll act quickly on it. I know this is not the most important issue confronting America, but it's one of those issues where there's a lot of agreement. And I think a lot of people wonder why it took so long to get here," Rubio said Tuesday on the Senate floor.
Below is a video of Rubio speaking after the passage in the Senate.
"No more switching clocks, more daylight hours to spend outside after school and after work, and more smiles — that is what we get with permanent Daylight Saving Time,” Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, who co-sponsored the legislation, said in a statement.
Markey was joined on the chamber floor by senators from both parties as they made the case for how making Daylight Saving Time permanent would have positive effects on the nation.
“Changing the clock twice a year is outdated and unnecessary,” Florida Republican Sen. Rick Scott said.
“I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Americans want more sunshine and less depression — people in this country, all the way from Seattle to Miami, want the Sunshine Protection Act," Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat, added.
Nearly a dozen states across the U.S. have already standardized Daylight Saving Time.
Daylight Saving Time is defined as a period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the country are set one hour ahead of Standard Time. Americans last changed their clocks on Sunday. Standard time lasts for roughly four months in most of the country.
Members of Congress have long been interested in the potential benefits and costs of daylight saving time since it was first adopted as a wartime measure in 1942. The proposal will now go to the House, where the Energy and Commerce Committee had a hearing to discuss possible legislation last week.
Rep. Frank Pallone, the chairman of the committee, agreed in his opening statement at the hearing that it is “time we stop changing our clocks.” But he said he was undecided about whether Daylight Saving Time or Standard Time is the way to go.
Markey said Tuesday, "Now, I call on my colleagues in the House of Representatives to lighten up and swiftly pass the Sunshine Protection Act.”
Rubio, in a video message released earlier this month, didn't mince words.
"Switching in and out of Daylight Saving Time is outdated, and it's only a source of annoyance and confusion. Frankly, it's just dumb, and there's just no other way to say it," the senator said in March.
Last year, Rubio reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act (S.623), which is how it ended up being voted on Tuesday. The bill reflects previous state-level efforts from the Florida Legislature to create a year-round DST.
Back in 2018, Florida lawmakers voted to enact DST year-round. But a federal statute is necessary to make Florida's change take effect. It hasn't been a priority in Washington, D.C. So, confused Floridians have just watched as we keep re-setting clocks years later.
Outside of DC, the concept is gaining popularity – with a growing number of states thinking like Florida. In addition to the Sunshine State, nineteen states have passed similar laws or measures of some sort. Rubio's office says they include Arkansas, Alabama, California, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming.
"Twenty states and a huge majority of Americans want to stay in Daylight Saving Time all year round, and we now have bipartisan and bicameral support to do just that. So please, let's just lock the clock once and for all and put all this stupidity behind us," Rubio said previously.
An analysis from the NCSL found that so far in 2022, at least 28 states are considering new or 2021 carryover bills addressing Daylight Saving Time. A poll conducted last October shows that most Americans want to avoid switching between Daylight Saving and Standard Time, though there is no consensus behind which should be used all year.
The poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found only 25 percent of Americans said they preferred to switch back-and-forth between Standard and Daylight Saving Time. Forty-three percent of Americans said they would like to see Standard Time used during the entire year. Thirty-two percent say they would prefer that Daylight Saving Time be used all year.
Our most recent DST just began on March 13. It's currently scheduled to end on Nov. 6.
Arizona and Hawaii are the only states that don't observe DST. If the federal government enacts this legislation, it would make DST permanent for the other 48 states.
Reuters reports that after input from airlines and broadcasters, supporters agreed that if the House and President Biden approve of this bill, the change to permanent DST would not take place until November 2023. So even if the bill becomes law, the U.S. will resume standard time and "fall back" in November 2022, before "springing forward" again next year.
Sen. Rubio's office says studies have shown permanent DST could come with benefits, including:
Improving road safety
- Reducing car crashes by better aligning daylight hours with standard work hours
Improving the economy
- A JPMorgan Chase study apparently found a drop in financial activity when the clocks moved back.
Benefitting people's health
- Permanent DST is reportedly associated with a reduced risk of depression, cardiac issues and more physical fitness, which could reduce obesity.
Helping the environment - a little?
- Research has shown minimal, but trackable, energy use reductions may be associated with permanent DST. As our VERIFY team found, the electrical savings aren't much.
The Associated Press and Andrew Weil contributed to this report.