US News What permanent daylight saving time would look like in your state

[The Helper]

The U.S. is one step closer to observing daylight saving time year-round after the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act on Tuesday. The bill passed on a 308-117 vote, sending the legislation to the Senate.

Should the Senate pass the bill, it seems likely that President Trump would sign it into law. He earlier this year spoke highly of the bill, saying it could be “a very nice WIN for the Republican Party. Take it!”

If that were to happen, you wouldn’t notice a change right away.

Most of the U.S. is already observing daylight saving time. We’ll continue to do so until November, when clocks “fall back” an hour to standard time.

It’s when the bill takes effect that you’ll start to notice changes.

The Sunshine Protection Act would require states to observe year-round daylight saving time unless they exempt themselves before it takes effect. Presumably, only two states are exempt so far: Hawaii and the parts of Arizona that do not change their clocks twice a year. Both states observe standard time (the time we observe from November to March) year-round.

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/5969260-what-permanent-daylight-saving-time-would-look-like-in-your-state/

 

[The Helper]

The US Tried Permanent Daylight Saving Time in the ’70s. People Hated It

The sun rose at 8:27 AM on January 7, 1974. Children in the Washington area had left for school in the dark that morning, thanks to a new national experiment during a wrenching energy crisis: most of the US went to year-round daylight saving time beginning on January 6. “It was jet black” outside when her daughter was supposed to leave for school, Florence Bauer of Springfield told the Washington Post. “Some of the children took flashlights with them.”

The change would benefit Americans in the long run, predicted Steve Grossman of the Department of Transportation. Yes, accidents in the morning darkness may become more common, he said, but longer daylight hours could mean eliminating the hazards of evening commutes: “stress, anxiety, and many drivers have had a couple of drinks,” as he told the Post. Outside the capital, others vowed defiance: Robert Yost, the mayor of St. Francis, Kansas, said his town’s council “felt it was time to put our foot down and stop this monkey business.”

Now as the idea of permanent daylight saving time has gained some political momentum, it’s probably worth a look back to another period when the US tinkered with time.

Congress had voted on December 14, 1973, to put the US on daylight saving time for two years. President Nixon signed the bill the next day. The US had gone to permanent daylight saving time before, during World War II. Then, too, the measure was enacted to save fuel. Permanent DST wasn’t close to the wackiest idea about time floating around—Paul Mullinax, a geographer who worked at the Pentagon, came up with the idea of putting the continental US on a single time zone. “USA Time” would apply from Bangor to Barstow, eliminate jet lag, and standardize TV schedules. His idea even got traction in Congress, via a bill from US Representative Patsy Mink of Hawaii. “The human being is a very adaptive animal,” he said. “There is no reason we have to be a slave to the sun.”

The US Tried Permanent Daylight Saving Time in the ’70s. People Hated It - Washingtonian

The sun rose at 8:27 AM on January 7, 1974. Children in the Washington area had left for school in the dark that morning, thanks to a new national experiment during a wrenching energy crisis: most of the US went to year-round daylight saving time beginning on January 6. "It was jet black"...

washingtonian.com