HARRISBURG – As Pennsylvanians prepare to set their clocks back an hour this weekend, Senator Scott Martin (R-13) is renewing his call to make daylight saving time permanent and eliminate the twice-yearly time changes.
Eliminating the transition between standard time and daylight saving time would require action at the federal level.
Martin introduced a resolution earlier this year which urges Congress to make daylight saving time permanent. Studies show that the twice-a-year time changes results in more accidents, health problems and a loss of productivity of more than $400 million annually.
“Every time we change the clocks, our citizens suffer from more health problems, accidents and a lack of productivity,” Martin said. “Avoiding the costly and dangerous health impacts of time changes is a commonsense solution to prevent these consequences.”
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, legislative bodies have considered at least 450 bills and resolutions in recent years to establish year-round daylight saving time as soon as federal law allows it.
Arizona and Hawaii are currently exempt from time changes resulting from daylight saving time, while exemptions from standard time have been proposed in Maine, Massachusetts and Florida.
Many believe daylight saving time began to help farmers, but this is a misconception. The practice began temporarily during World War I as a fuel-saving measure and was reinstated briefly during World War II. It was made a permanent fixture for most American states and territories when President Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act of 1966.
CONTACT: Jason Thompson