WASHINGTON (WSVN) — Are you tired of “falling back” or “springing forward?” Well several lawmakers from Florida are looking bring it to an end.
Senators Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, along with Rep. Vern Buchanan introduced the Sunshine Protection Act of 2019, Wednesday. If passed, the bill would make Daylight Saving Time permanent year-round.
Who doesn’t love more sunshine? We are the Sunshine State after all.☀️☀️
Today, I joined fellow Floridians @MarcoRubio & @VernBuchanan to introduce the Sunshine Protection Act to make Daylight Saving Time permanent.
Read our joint release here: https://t.co/PmWDRoukP8
— Rick Scott (@SenRickScott) March 6, 2019
The bill mirrors another piece of legislature proposed in the Senate in 2018. However, that bill did not make it past Senate Commerce Committee, according to the Sun Sentinel.
“Studies have shown many benefits of a year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is why Florida’s legislature overwhelmingly voted to make it permanent last year,” Rubio said in a statement.
The bill would not change or alter existing time zones, and it would not change the actual hours of sunlight.
The legislation would not apply to states and territories that currently don’t observe Daylight Saving Time, like Hawaii, most of Arizona, Puerto Rico and more.
Florida legislators voted in 2018 to pass a similar bill, and the bill was signed by then-Gov. Rick Scott. However, the bill cannot take effect unless Congress changed federal law to allow it.
“I was glad to sign legislation as Governor to continue Daylight Saving Time year-round for Floridians, and now join Senator Rubio to lead this effort in Congress,” Scott said. “The Sunshine Protection Act will allow Floridians and visitors to enjoy our beautiful state even later in the day, and will benefit Florida’s tourism industry, which just celebrated another record year.”
“Last year, Florida lawmakers were the first in the nation to vote to make Daylight Saving Time permanent in our home state,” Buchanan said. “We should follow their lead at the national level to allow them to move forward with this change and ensure that Florida and the rest of the nation are on the same page year-round.”
To read the full bill, click here.
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