Daylight Saving Time for 2018 has already started in the United States as of earlier this morning — and if the state of Florida has its way, the change will become permanent effective as of Sunday, July 1, 2018.
Florida to Permanently Observe Daylight Saving Time?
Not even 60 seconds was necessary for all but two senators of the state of Florida to pass a vote last week on a bill to enact what is known as the Sunshine Protection Act; and on Wednesday, February 14, 2018, 103 members of the Florida House of Representatives also voted in favor of the bill, with only eleven members voting in opposition.
Rick Scott — who is the current governor of the state of Florida — still has to decide whether or not to approve of the bill once it reaches his desk…
…and even if Scott approves of the bill, members of the House of Representatives of the United States must still amend Supplement 5 of Chapter 15 of the United States Code — which references the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which established the system of Daylight Saving Time in being applied uniformly across the country — to authorize the state of Florida to join Arizona and Hawaii in becoming exempt from implementing the change of time twice per year.
An act relating to daylight saving time; providing a short title; providing legislative intent regarding the State of Florida and its political subdivisions observing daylight saving time year-round under certain conditions; providing an effective date.
WHEREAS, the State of Florida is known as the “Sunshine State,” and
WHEREAS, as the “Sunshine State,” Florida should be kept sunny year-round, NOW, THEREFORE,Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
Section 1. (1) This section may be cited as the “Sunshine Protection Act.”
(2) If the United States Congress amends 15 U.S.C. s. 260a to authorize states to observe daylight saving time year-round, it is the intent of the Legislature that daylight saving time shall be the year-round standard time of the entire state and all of its political subdivisions.
Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2018.
Florida is currently located in two different time zones, with its western panhandle observing Central Time and the remainder of the state located in the Eastern Time Zone — but that could also change if an amendment to state bill SB 858 is approved to designate those 16 areas of Florida from Central Time to Eastern Time.
Summary
Proponents of Daylight Saving Time claim that implementing the time change saves energy — but this report to Congress from the United States Department of Energy suggests that energy use is decreased by only approximately 0.03 percent as a result.
I do happen to like when the sun sets “later” in the day — but when the entire country experimented with having Daylight Saving Time occur throughout the entire year back in 1974 and 1975, children wound up going to school in the dark in the morning; and many parents objected to that in fear of jeopardizing their safety.
Last night — as I was working on my computer — I noted how weird was watching the digital clock completely skip an entire hour when it changed from 1:59:59 in the morning to 3:00:00…
…but as I do not suffer from jet lag, changes in time zones — coupled with Daylight Saving Time — do not bother me; so whatever is decided typically does not matter to me…
Will you need to change your clock when entering or leaving Florida during the winter months? Photograph ©2015 by Brian Cohen.
