The discussion of doing away with the twice-yearly tradition of changing our clocks forward and backward has become more popular in recent years. Now, some politicians are even pushing to eliminate it by law.
According to a press release, one of these politicians is Pennsylvania State Representative Ryan Mackenzie. The Republican from Lehigh County wants to get rid of the time changes that he says add “unnecessary stress to our lives.”
Mackenzie refers to ending the biannual clock changes as “long overdue.” He’s introduced legislation in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives that would make daylight standard time permanent throughout the state.
House Bill 272 would amend an Act that attempted to establish a uniform standard of time in 1887.
Discussions on this topic have also taken place at the federal level. U.S. Senator Marco Rubio and Representative Vern Buchanan introduced the Sunshine Protection Act earlier this year. This legislation has the same goal as Representative Mackenzie’s. In a press release about the legislation, Rubio referred to the clock changes as “stupid.”
Thirty states have introduced legislation to end the biannual time changes. None have passed. Individual authority would have to be given to the states by Congress, as adopting state-by-state legislation to adopt a uniform standard of time is currently against federal law.
Mackenzie references reports that more daylight could have a positive impact on public safety and social and commercial activity, and could cause a decrease in electricity use, among other benefits.
Representative Mackenzie’s bill is currently under review by the House State Government Committee.
