Will the nation’s biannual ritual of moving the clock backward and forward an hour soon be a thing of the past? Perhaps, but it’s no sure thing.
The House last week passed the Sunshine Protection Act by a 308-117 margin. Support cut across party lines. Under the legislation, states that don’t exempt themselves would observe daylight saving time throughout the year, obviating the need for adjustments each spring and fall. The proposal now heads to the Senate, where its prospects remain uncertain.
President Donald Trump supports the bill and is urging Republicans to rally around it. A recent poll found that just 12 percent of respondents favored the current system. Nineteen states — but not Nevada — have also passed symbolic measures in support of permanent daylight saving time. Two states, Arizona and Hawaii, and a portion of Indiana do not observe daylight saving time.
In fact, however, many people have mixed feelings on the matter. While they don’t like being forced to change their clocks twice annually, they are split on whether it would be preferable to use daylight saving time all year (adding an hour of daylight in the evening) or to use standard time year-round (adding an hour of daylight in the morning).
The Sunshine Protection Act opts for the former. While that would have minimal effect on Las Vegas — the latest sunrise and earliest sunset in Clark County under permanent daylight saving time would be 7:52 a.m. and 5:26 p.m. rather than 6:52 a.m. and 4:26 p.m. under standard time, according to The Hill — residents of northern states or those on the western edge of a time zone would see a major difference.
For instance, residents of Michigan would be in the dark until after 9 a.m. during stretches of winter. So would those living in parts of Indiana, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Washington and Idaho. This has fostered concerns about children forced to attend school in the dark during the morning hours. That was the rationale Rep. Dina Titus provided for being the lone member of Nevada’s congressional delegation to oppose the measure.
Rep. Titus has history on her side. The nation tried a similar reform in the early 1970s when President Richard Nixon signed a bill making daylight saving time permanent for two years as part of an energy-saving measure. The proposal had widespread public support — until it didn’t. “The legislation was repealed after less than a year,” NBC News reported, as Americans quickly soured of dark early mornings.
The state opt-out provision is a recognition that a one-size-fits-all approach won’t be popular in many areas. And that will be a major roadblock to Senate passage.
