ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The end of daylight saving time is right around the corner, but one Florida congressman has reignited an effort to put an end to the annual tradition.
Earlier this year, Sen. Marco Rubio reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act (S.623). The legislation would make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent across the country. Meaning, there would be no need to turn back the clocks once a year.
The bill reflects previous efforts from the Florida legislature to create a year-round DST. In 2018, state lawmakers introduced a bill to create a permanent DST within the state, but it ultimately failed. Either way, final approval lies with the federal government.
"The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation," Rubio said in a statement. "Studies have shown many benefits of a year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is why the Florida legislature voted to make it permanent in 2018."
According to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), between 2015 and 2019, 29 states introduced legislation to abolish the end of DST.
This year, the time change will happen at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 7.
And, for those wondering where the "s" in daylight "savings" time is, there is none. That's a very common mispronunciation. It's actually daylight saving time.
Daylight saving time's history
The earliest proposal to "save" daylight is traditionally attributed to Benjamin Franklin's 1784 "An Economical Project." Franklin suggested citizens rise at dawn to save on candlelight expenses.
However, BTS says the country's current observance of daylight saving time has its roots in train transportation. Back in 1883, railroad companies introduced time zones to avoid crashes caused by local times.
It wasn't until World War I when the federal government was given the power to oversee time zones to help with the war effort. During that period daylight saving time was first utilized.
It was abolished after the war but was allowed to continue on a state-by-state basis. Because of this, confusion over local times once again became a transportation issue.
In 1966, the Department of Transportation was founded and given regulatory power over time zones. Daylight saving time was then uniformly set across the nation.