Is It Time to Change the Time Change?

• Author: Reed, Jim

"If So Many People Loathe Daylight Saving Time, Why Hasn't Someone Done Something About It? Well, They've Tried."

Indeed, virtually all the state legislatures have considered a total of 450 bills and resolutions on the topic in the last seven years or so in response to the sentiment behind this headline from a Colorado Public Radio story a couple years back.

Much of the legislation would stop the disruption-causing twice-yearly clock switching. Inherent in the debate is whether to enact either permanent standard time or permanent daylight time. The federal Uniform Time Act allows the former option but not the latter. Since 2018, legislative enactments in 18 states establish year-round daylight saving time as soon as federal law allows it.

An Economist/YouGov poll of 1,500 U.S. adult citizens in November 2021 found that 63% wanted to stop clock changing, 16% wanted to keep the current system and 23% were unsure. Were clock switching to be eliminated, 48% of respondents favored permanent daylight time, while 29% preferred permanent standard time.

Legislative Action

Across the legislatures in 2022, 28 states are considering 68 pieces of legislation addressing DST, including 2021 carryover bills and new bills introduced during this year's session (see map below).

Of the 68 measures, 11 propose the adoption of permanent standard time; one gives voters a nonbinding choice (Georgia); and the remaining 56 establish daylight time as the official time year-round should federal law change-and in most cases, contingent on surrounding states enacting similar legislation.

Maryland Del. Brian Crosby (D), sponsor of HB 126, said ending the biannual clock change will "keep our circadian rhythms healthy, lower crime and help small businesses."

Crosby's bill, which passed the House of Delegates 108-24 on Feb. 17, designates Eastern Daylight Time as the standard year-round for Maryland. It is contingent, however, on federal law allowing year-round DST and the enactment of similar legislation by Delaware, the District of Columbia, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia.

If enacted by the Maryland Senate and signed by the governor, Maryland would become the 19th state to choose to move to permanent daylight time, held up only by federal law. Three bills have been introduced in Congress to allow states to make that change; three others would make DST permanent. A subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on March 9 titled "Changing...