Didn’t Congress vote to end daylight savings? Why is this still happening in SC soon?
The time change dreaded by many Americans is but days away.
Daylight saving time is set to end at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, requiring most Americans to set their clocks back one hour. This year’s daylight saving time has been underway since March 10.
The longstanding tradition of moving clocks ahead or back one hour each year has been the bane of many a sleep-deprived American for decades.
Didn’t SC vote to end daylight savings?
The South Carolina Legislature voted in 2020 to make daylight saving time permanent. That means the state would stop changing the clocks twice a year and would no longer have to endure darkness before dinner during the winter months. However, the law doesn’t take effect until Congress votes to do away with the time changes.
Other states
“State legislatures have considered over 700 bills and resolutions in recent years to establish year-round daylight saving time as soon as federal law allows it,” the National Conference of State Legislatures states on its website. “At least 30 states have considered or are considering legislation or resolutions related to daylight saving time in 2024.”
What has Congress done on daylight saving?
Congress has tried a few times in recent years to end the time changing, but to no avail.
Among the most recent was a bill introduced in 2023 by Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., which would let states remain on daylight saving time all year. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich. introduced a similar bill. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla. also pushed the 2023 version of the Sunshine Protection Act. Those bills have all been stuck in committees.
States without daylight saving
Arizona and Hawaii are the only states that stay in standard time all year.
While daylight saving time was underway since the early 20th Century, it was the Uniform Time Act of 1966 that set the current standard in the country. It also let states at the time opt out and exempt themselves from the time change and stay on standard time all year.
Why make daylight savings permanent?
There have been a few changes since the Uniform Time Act of 1966, mainly with adjustments to the start and end dates.
Daylight saving time was originally enacted as a way to save energy by providing more daylight in the evening hours. Some studies have called such savings into question.
Other studies have shown impacts on people’s health because of the time changes. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has stated that “based on evidence that shows the switch to daylight saving time carries many health and accident risks and is misaligned with human circadian biology, the position of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine is that seasonal time changes should be abolished in favor of permanent standard time.”
This story was originally published October 31, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
