Q&A of the Day – What’s Happening with the Sunshine Protection Act in Congress?
Each day I feature a listener question sent by one of these methods.
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Today’s Entry: @brianmuddradio Has anything been happening with the law to end time changes? It's been quiet this year.
Bottom Line: This feels like a case of deja vu as it’s far from the first time we’ve had the conversation – though I’d love for it to be the last...because if it was it would mean that congress would have finally passed Florida’s Sunshine Protection Act into law. On that note, I wish I could say this weekend would be the last time we’d have to change the time. I certainly wish I could say more progress had been made in congress with the Sunshine Protection Act. In answer to your question, no, nothing has been happening with the bill that would have ended time changes. In fact, we’re actually now further away from that reality than we were a year ago today, which means we’re stuck in this cycle of endless twice-a-year time changes that will take place once again when Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday morning. Before explaining where we currently stand here’s a little backstory for those who may not be familiar with this conversation.
In 2017 the Florida legislature passed Florida’s Sunshine Protection Act which then-Governor Rick Scott signed into law. It’s a law which would permanently leave Florida in Daylight Saving Time ending time changes in Florida. From that point forward the legislative game has been on to have it recognized at the federal level – which is necessary for Florida’s law to take effect. Senator Rubio began the effort to have the federal government respect Florida’s wishes to permanently remain in DST. Each congress, starting in 2018, Senator Rubio pushed the Sunshine Protection Act in the United States Senate. Each year it went nowhere. Not even being brought to a vote. Last year was different and in March, the United States Senate took up Rubio’s Act, which in recent years has also been co-sponsored by the then-governor who signed it into law, Senator Rick Scott, and it passed unanimously. That meant after five years of legislative efforts, all that was left to bring this legislation to President Biden’s desk, and to put an end to time changes once and for all, was another act of congress in the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, that never happened. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi never brought the legislation to the floor for a vote stating that it wasn’t a priority.
Each congress, legislation which wasn’t passed by the previous congress is tossed out and the process must begin all over again for bills like The Sunshine Protection Act. This year Senate Majority Leader Chucker Schumer hasn’t allowed for a floor vote on the legislation, nor has the House considered it either. The Senate has been the driver on this issue and without the body having advanced the legislation this year, the House, which has clearly had its share of drama simply trying to resolve roles in leadership, hasn’t bothered to consider it yet either. While this isn’t a partisan issue, if the legislation were to pass again in the Senate, the outlook in the current House would look a lot better than in the prior Pelosi led House. This has been a priority of Florida’s Republicans which hold a great deal of sway in the House, as has been evidenced through the House Speaker battles. But it’s not just about Floridians. As it turns out, as more people have heard of this proposal, most Americans, not just Floridians want it too.
Monmouth University polling on The Sunshine Protection Act shows 61% of Americans support it compared to only 35% who don’t. A YouGov poll similarly showed 59% support to only 19% who dissented. So, here’s a hugely popular piece of non-partisan legislation which would have a profound impact on our lives and it’s still not moving. This is the epitome of where the expression...it takes an act of congress comes from. As for the reasons behind putting an end to time changes.
The current incarnation of DST was signed into law in 1974 as part of the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act. The premise was that it would save energy. However, in 2017, the most comprehensive study of energy savings related to time changes took place. The study utilized data from 44 individual studies and found the average energy savings was negligible at 0.3%. What’s more is that as we continue to become more energy efficient that number continues to drop and may be completely mute in real-time. Contrast that with the negative economic impact of the time change, which using JP Morgan data and calculating the impact based on Florida’s current economy, suggests we lose between $18 to $34 billion annually due to the change. In other words, if the argument is an energy/economic argument, it’s firmly against exiting Daylight Saving Time and will only continue to grow over time.
Had the bill become law last year we wouldn’t be changing the time again this weekend, which means it wouldn’t be dark before six ever again either. But yeah, for now it’s the status quo. As I’ve said so many times over the years, there are always 24 hours in a day, it’s absurd that we don’t recognize it. It's time to relegate time changes to the dust bin of history and the sooner the better.