WASHINGTON, July 17 (DC Times Online) — The House of Representatives has passed legislation that would end the twice-yearly clock change and keep daylight saving time in place year-round.
What did the House do?
Lawmakers approved H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act, by a vote of 308-117 on July 14 in Washington, D.C., according to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and reports from Reuters, NBC News, The New York Times and CBS News.
In a committee press release, Rep. Vern Buchanan called it his “bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act.” The release said the House action was an important step toward ending the practice of changing clocks twice a year.
What would permanent daylight saving time change?
Daylight saving time is the part of the year when clocks are set forward by one hour. The bill would make that setting permanent, so the country would stop switching clocks in the spring and fall, according to the House committee and the news reports.
That would be a nationwide change in federal time policy. But it would not affect every state in exactly the same way.
Could states be different?
Reuters, NBC News, The New York Times and CBS News reported that the legislation would allow states to opt out or exempt themselves in some form. The sources reviewed did not provide the full bill text, so the exact procedure was not confirmed in the material available here.
CBS News noted that Hawaii and most of Arizona already use standard time all year, which is why state-by-state rules matter in a measure like this.
What happens next?
Reuters reported that the bill now goes to the Senate. The House vote is an important step, but it does not make the change law on its own.
The committee press release also said the Sunshine Protection Act had been included in the Motor Vehicle Modernization Act, which the committee passed 48-1.
For now, the main takeaway is simple: the House has voted to end the twice-yearly time change, but the proposal still needs Senate action before it can become law.
