Florida Lawmakers Pass Bill To Make Daylight Savings Time A Year-Round Thing
The ‘Sunshine Protection Act’ seeks to keep Florida days sunnier and longer
Mention the words “Daylight Saving Time” to literally anyone and you’re sure hear some very decided opinions on the matter. Well, Florida lawmakers decided to take matters into their own hands and passed a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time a year-round thing.
Proving pretty much everyone hates the twice-yearly time change, the bill was only two votes away from being unanimous.
While everyone who observes Daylight Savings Time in the U.S. will collectively “spring forward” their clocks this Sunday, March 11, Floridians may never have to set them back ever again. The Sunshine Protection Act is a bill that will help “keep the Sunshine state sunny year round,” according to the bill text.
Florida senator Greg Steube came up with the idea for the bill after walking into his local barbershop after the clocks “turned back” last fall. He told the Tampa Bay Times that the barber’s kids had a tough time getting up for school every time the clocks changed — definitely something all parents can relate to. Steube told the Senate Community Affair Committee he thinks keeping Florida days sunnier, longer could also help boost tourism dollars.
Currently, Arizona and Hawaii and a handful of U.S. territories don’t observe Daylight Saving Time. The state of Indiana didn’t hop on board the changing clock train until 2006 — when the state was changed from observing Central Standard time to Eastern.
The news from Florida sparked some lively Twitter conversation, with many people expressing their deep, abiding wishes that all 50 states just tell Daylight Saving Time to go ahead and fuck itself.
Since Florida lawmakers have been firmly planted on everyone’s collective shit list lately for a few reasons, some couldn’t resist a dig at the state.
While parents overall hate the time change with a fiery passion because our own personal happiness and sense of inner peace is directly dependent on our children getting adequate, thorough sleep — some people just DGAF either way.
One drawback to the proposed permanent time change is that the sunrise could be as late as 8:30 a.m. in certain parts of Florida, which means lots of kids going to school when it’s still super dark. Which means getting them out of bed and motivated to get ready for the day — a monumental feat in itself — will probably just be that much harder. Heck, it’s not even just the kids. Dark mornings suck for all of us, period.
If the Sunshine Protection Act is signed by Florida Governor Rick Scott, Florida will be out of sync with the rest of the East Coast in terms of the time zone, which majorly messes with business hours and TV times.
While it’s certainly an interesting concept, the bill isn’t a sure bet just yet — if it’s signed by the governor, it would still need to be approved by Congress.
