TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (NBC) – It’s that time of year again. On Sunday, most of us will turn the clock ahead one hour for daylight saving time. But Florida thinks it’s time for a change.
Lawmakers there passed a bill that would keep the state in daylight saving time all year long.
Daylight saving time is when most of the U.S. springs ahead an hour, just like it’s been for over a century. But have you ever stopped to wonder why?
In Florida, they’re asking that very question. Florida Senator Greg Steube said, “75 – 85% of citizens in the state think it’s dumb.”
Lawmakers in the sunshine state passed a bill called the Sunshine Protection Act to make it daylight saving time all year long. No more clock changing.
From November to March, Florida would be one hour ahead of the rest of the East Coast with sunnier evenings and darker mornings. And of course an earlier New Year Eve countdown. That means when the giant ruby red slipper drops in Key West the rest of the East Coast will still be waiting for the ball to drop in Times Square.
Florida wouldn’t be the first to make the change. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time.
Other states considering a change include Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
It’s already been changed. In 2007 it was moved up three weeks in the spring and one week in the fall.
So why do we do it? Many people think daylight saving time has something to do with providing more daylight to farmers. But the Germans first used it in 1916 as a way of saving coal during World War I.
The U.S. started with daylight saving time two years later also as a way of saving electricity. But that was then, and this is now.
Studies now showing the change can actually be dangerous. The risk of having a car accident or heart attack both go up the Monday after daylight saving, leading many to say maybe it’s time to stop messing with the time.
Florida’s governor still has to approve the bill. After that, Congress has to agree to allow the state to do it and that could take some time.
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