Good Question: What’s the update on efforts to make daylight saving time permanent?

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — What’s the update on lawmakers’ efforts to make daylight saving time permanent?

Daylight saving time started during World War I as a way to save money on fuel. More sunlight during the day meant spending less on coal. More than a century later, you might be wondering if it’s still necessary and if it’s sticking around.

You know the drill: Spring forward, fall back. Lose an hour of sleep in March, gain it back in November.

We’re approaching the end of daylight saving time. It officially ends on November 5 at 2 a.m. Kelly wants to know: “Are they doing away daylight saving time?”

In March, Florida Senator Marco Rubio introduced the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023 after a similar bill fell through two years earlier.

The legislation would make daylight saving time permanent and eliminate the need to change our clocks. It would mean the sun would rise and set later for half of the year. The proposed legislation has faced criticism from health advocates saying our bodies are better suited to standard time.

Supporters of the bill say it would reduce fatigue-related car crashes and businesses would benefit from the extra hour of evening sunlight. Congress.gov shows the current bill has yet to pass in the Senate and the House.

Nothing has been decided on yet but lawmakers are still considering it. There are a couple of states that don’t observe daylight saving time. Hawaii and most of Arizona don’t change their clocks. That’s because the Uniform Time Act of 1966 allows individual states to decide if they want to change their clocks twice a year.

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