The clock may be counting down to zero on Daylight Saving Time.
The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed a bill called the Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139), which would make Daylight Saving Time the standard practice around the country.
“The Sunshine Protection Act would essentially make it so states have the option to go to daylight saving time year-round full-time and make it permanent,” 10 News Meteorologist Edward Shaw said.
The bill passed by a 308-117 supermajority and now goes to the Senate. If the Senate passes it, the bill will go to President Donald Trump’s desk.
It would, however, be optional for states, meaning they could either opt in or opt out of the deal.
What would be the biggest changes though?
“Between early November and early March, that would be when we see the biggest change,” Shaw said. “The biggest change will come on the winter solstice, where we could see sunrises as late as about 8:30, 8:45 in some areas and sunsets more so in the 6 o’clock hour later on that night.”
There are pros and cons to the bill.
“There’s a lot of sleep studies that think we should have standard time as the better option,” Shaw said. “Then there’s also concerns about safety and that’s one of the big reasons this bill is expected to gain a little bit more traction just because of the fact that with different times, kids going to school, people going to work, wanting to cut down on the amount of darkness people are exposed to.”