Should the U.S. Adopt Permanent Daylight Saving Time to Eliminate the Need to ‘Spring Forward’ & ‘Fall Back’? (S. 623)

What is S. 623?

(Updated March 18, 2022)

This bill — the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 — would make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent across the U.S. Currently, most of the U.S. operates under eight months of DST from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, with the remaining four months on Standard Time. Under this bill, the U.S. would transition to year-round DST by not “falling back” in November, thus eliminating the need to reset clocks twice a year. If enacted, this bill would take effect in November 2023.

Argument in favor

Making Daylight Saving Time permanent across the U.S. would simplify Americans’ lives by ending the practice of resetting clocks twice a year to “spring forward” and “fall back”, which could yield benefits in terms of reduced health risks and increased economic activity.

Argument opposed

The current time system of alternating between Standard Time and Daylight Saving Time with changes in March and November isn’t that challenging to abide by. There aren’t enough definitive benefits to year-round Daylight Saving Time to justify the transition.

Impact

Americans living in areas that observe Daylight Saving Time; and state governments.

Cost of S. 623

A CBO cost estimate is unavailable.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) reintroduced this bill to make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent, thus eliminating the need for most of the U.S. to reset clocks twice a year:

“The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation. Studies have shown many benefits of a year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is why the Florida legislature voted to make it permanent in 2018. I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, and give our nation’s families more stability throughout the year.”

Original cosponsor Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) added:

“The Sunshine Protection Act takes a common-sense step to provide some much-needed stability for families in Oregon and across the nation. Springing forward and falling back year after year only creates unnecessary confusion while harming Americans’ health and our economy. Making Daylight Saving permanent would give folks an hour back of sunshine during the winter months when we need it most.”

The bill’s sponsors produced a fact sheet touting the following potential benefits of making Daylight Saving Time permanent:

• Reducing car crashes and accidents involving pedestrians by 8-11%, according to the American Journal of Public Health and the Journal of Safety Research.

• Reducing risk for cardiac issues, stroke, and seasonal depression.

• Reducing robberies by 27% according to a 2015 Brookings Institution study, due to more daylight in the evenings.

• Increasing economic activity, as a JPMorgan Chase study found a drop in economic activity of 2.2% - 4.9% when clocks move back.

• Reducing childhood obesity and increasing physical fitness, according to the Journal of Physical Activity and Health, and the Journal of Environmental Psychology.

• Helping the agricultural industry by eliminating biannual disruptions in farmers’ schedules and supply chain partners.

• Reducing energy usage by 0.5% per day according to a Dept. of Energy study conducted in 2005 after the U.S. added four weeks of DST.

Brian Anderson, who testified against a Utah bill as an advocate for changing the clocks twice a year, contended that it’s not hard or time-consuming to make the adjustment, and most people get a different amount of sleep night to night, anyway:

“Nobody complains about getting the hour of sleep in the fall, but when you lose it in the spring, people think that’s dangerous or bad. I’d be hard-pressed to point to anybody that gets the same hours of sleep every night.”

This bill has the support of nine bipartisan cosponsors, including six Republicans and three Democrats.

Of Note: The U.S. began observing DST in 1918 following the enactment of the Standard Time Act, but after the DST-related provisions were repealed the following year after World War I states and cities were empowered to set their own dates and times for observing DST. Aside from a period during World War II when the U.S. adopted "War Time" and observed DST year-round, that continued until 1966.

There proved to be a lot of problems with allowing states and cities to choose when DST began and ended within their jurisdiction, and in 1961 the Interstate Commerce Commission told Congress to come up with a solution. In 1965, observance of DST was particularly chaotic in the Midwest: within the state of Iowa there were 23 different start and end times for DST, and St. Paul, Minnesota began DST two weeks before its twin city, Minneapolis.

In 1966, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act, which set nationwide start and end dates for DST in the states that chose to observe it (which all but Arizona and Hawaii did).

Sixteen states — Arkansas, Alabama, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming — have approved laws, resolutions or voter initiatives that would switch to permanent Daylight Saving Time if federal law is changed to allow them to do so.

Media:

• Sponsoring Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) Press Release

• Countable (116th Congress - Previous Version)

• South Florida Sun-Sentinel (Previous Version)

• Sunshine State News (Previous Version)