WASHINGTON — States could have the choice whether to change the clocks and adhere to daylight saving time under a new bill introduced in Congress this week by Utah Rep. Celeste Maloy.
Under the Daylight Act, individual states would be given the choice to stay on daylight saving time permanently or to continue changing clocks twice a year. The bill comes just days before the country is scheduled to move its clocks forward one hour to begin daylight saving time on Sunday.
“The Daylight Act grants states like Utah the freedom to decide whether or not to remain on daylight saving time year-round,” Maloy said in a statement. “Let’s pass this bill in Congress and end the outdated practice of changing our clocks twice a year.”
Maloy cited a number of benefits of staying on daylight saving time year-round, such as lower energy costs, better health, a boosted economy, increased productivity, reduced crime and safer communities.
The majority of Americans (54%) say they would prefer to end daylight saving time while only 40% say they would like to keep it, according to a recent Gallup poll. Another 6% said they were unsure.
Utahns are overwhelmingly in support of ending daylight saving time, with 81% of registered voters saying they support eliminating the practice compared to just 19% who wish to keep it, according to the latest Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll.
The Utah Legislature considered a bill to keep Utah on standard time year-round, although that proposal was shot down by the state Senate earlier this month.
Efforts to repeal daylight saving time
There have been several efforts over the last few years to eliminate the routine clock changes on a national level.
Former Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., repeatedly introduced the Sunshine Protection Act while in office to make daylight saving time the national standard year-round. The bill has gotten support from several lawmakers but has never passed Congress.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., reintroduced that bill in January, although it has not yet been voted on.
That bill would make it the national standard to “lock the clock,” unlike Maloy’s proposal, which would leave the decision up to individual states.
President Donald Trump has suggested support for doing away with daylight saving time, telling reporters earlier this week it’s “hard to get excited” about the changes every year. However, the president declined to say whether he would take executive action on the matter, noting it’s a “50-50 issue.”
“I assume people would like to have more light later, but some people want to have more light earlier because they don’t want to take their kids to school in the dark,” Trump said. “It’s something I can do, but a lot of people like it one way, a lot of people like it the other way.”
History of daylight saving time
Daylight saving time has somewhat of a contentious history in the United States. The U.S. passed the Standard Time Act in 1918, which established both standard time and daylight saving time. Daylight saving time was repealed just a year later, becoming a local matter.
However, daylight time was reestablished nationally during World II to conserve energy and fuel. When the war ended, it once again became a local matter.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 implemented standardization for daylight saving time, establishing an official start and end date, which have been changed over the last few decades. The law provided for local exemptions.
Since 2007, daylight saving time begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
Most states observe daylight saving time, with the exception of Hawaii and most of Arizona.
Correction: An early version of this story indicated Americans would turn back their clocks this weekend. We will turn our clocks forward one hour early Sunday.