KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It's been nearly four years since Governor Bill Lee signed a law that would make daylight saving time the year-round standard across Tennessee. Since then, Tennesseans continue to "spring forward" and "fall back" an hour.
At 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 12, Tennessee will once again spring forward an hour when daylight saving time begins. Eight months from now, people are guaranteed to "fall back" an hour again on Sun, Nov. 5, unless something changes on the national level.
In order for Tennessee's 2019 law to truly take effect, U.S. Congress must pass a law allowing states to observe year-round daylight saving time. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) recently reintroduced a bill that would do just that and go a step further.
The Sunshine Protection Act would make daylight saving time the permanent standard time across the U.S., excluding states and territories such as Arizona, Hawaii and Puerto Rico that already observe year-round standard time.
“This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid. Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support. This Congress, I hope that we can finally get this done,” Rubio said.
The proposed law has bipartisan support in the Senate, with Democrats and Republicans both cosponsoring it. Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) is one of the cosponsors. In 2022, Rubio's Sunshine Protection Act bill passed the Senate with unanimous consent but ended up stalling in the House.
“It’s time to put a stop to the twice-a-year time-change madness," Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Okla.) said. "Science and common sense show that more year-round daylight would improve our health, help kids spend a bit more time enjoying outdoor after school activities, and encourage folks to support local businesses while on a sunny stroll in their communities. I’m all in to get the Sunshine Protection Act passed into law at last.”
In 2019, The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research polled nearly 1,100 adults and found more than 70% disliked the bi-yearly switch between standard time and daylight saving time. However, 40% of the people polled said they wanted the U.S. to move to permanent standard time, while 31% said they wanted year-round daylight saving time.