Hoosier farmers may not have to “spring forward” or “fall back” for much longer.
The U.S. Senate passed a bill by unanimous consent on Tuesday that would make the year-round permanent switch to Daylight Saving Time. That would eliminate the addition of one hour to the first Sunday in November and the subtraction of one hour to the second Sunday in March.
The bill, referred to as “The Sunshine Protection Act of 2022”, will still need to be passed by the U.S. House and signed by President Biden in order to become law.
PASSE.623,D: S the Sunshine Protection Act, to make Daylight Saving Time permanent
By unanimous consent.
— U.S. Senate Majority Floor Updates (@DSenFloor) March 15, 2022
If it does becomes law, those in the U.S. would not have to reset their clocks again after March 12, 2023.
In central Indiana, on the first day of winter in which there is the fewest hours of daylight, the sun currently rises at 8:02 a.m. and sets at 5:23 p.m. If the bill were to become law, the time of the sunrise on Dec. 21 would be 9:02 a.m. and the sunset would be 6:23 p.m.
“We don’t have to keep doing this stupidity anymore. And why we would enshrine this in our laws and keep it for so long is beyond me,” said Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), who co-sponsored the bill. Florida is one of at least 18 states that have passed laws to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, though federal law must be changed first to allow it to happen.
