Rubio's Permanent Daylight Savings Bill Sees Light of Day Once More

Over the past several years, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio has been on a persistent quest to abolish what he considers an outdated, "stupid" practice of changing clocks twice a year.

He nearly prevailed in 2022 when the Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent across the nation, passed unanimously in the Senate. However, to Rubio's dismay, it later died in the House at the end of the last legislative session.

With clocks about to spring forward, the senator's magnum opus is seeing the light of day once again.

On March 1, Rubio reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act to the U.S. Senate. The measure would end the practice of setting clocks back in the fall, cementing in place Daylight Saving Time, with darker mornings and brighter evenings to last evermore.

The bill is co-sponsored by a bi-partisan group of U.S. Senators, including Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Ed Markey (D-MA), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Rand Paul (R-KY). Nearly 20 states across the nation, including Florida, have passed measures to adopt permanent Daylight Saving Time, but Congress needs to pass a law for those to take effect.

“This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid. Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support," Rubio said. "This Congress, I hope that we can finally get this done.”

Rubio and other senators have argued that sticking with brighter evenings would benefit Americans by reducing twilight rush-hour car crashes and eliminating the risk for cardiac issues, stroke and seasonal depression that some studies have associated with setting back the clock.

While the bill's previous passage in the Senate signaled bi-partisan support, some health and meteorological experts warn that it's not such a great idea. Brian McNoldy, senior research associate at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, last year charted the sunrise and sunset times in Miami on Twitter in January to show just how gloomy winter mornings would become if Rubio's bill went into effect.

"Abandoning #StandardTime would result in an 8:09 sunrise in mid-January in #Miami," McNoldy tweeted. "Long dark mornings are the worst for mental health."

After the bill passed the Senate last year, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM) issued a statement warning that the permanent move to Daylight Saving Time (DST) may overlook health risks.

"We call on the House to take more time to assess the potential ramifications of establishing permanent daylight saving time before making such an important decision that will affect all Americans," the AASM statement reads.

A 2022 YouGovAmerica poll of roughly 2,200 people found that 59 percent wanted DST to stay in place year-round.

Back in the 1970s, America tried — and failed — to make DST permanent. After people became fed up with children walking to school in the dark and eight kids died in early morning traffic crashes in Florida, President Gerald Ford signed legislation reversing the permanent DST. Americans have been switching their clocks twice a year ever since.