In a bipartisan vote last week, the Georgia State Senate voted to end daylight savings time.
H.B. 100, which ” provide[s] that this state shall observe standard time year round until such time as Congress authorizes the states to observe daylight savings time,” passed with 46 yes votes and only seven no votes. Three members of the Senate abstained. The bill now heads to the state House.
If that bill is signed into law after March 14, the beginning of daylight savings time, it would not go into effect until daylight savings time ends in October.
Only two states – Arizona and Hawaii – do not observe daylight savings time.
But the House has plans of its own.
One member wants to make daylight savings time permanent, and his bill passed the House 112-48 Friday. It was read on the Senate floor Monday.
State Rep. Wes Cantrell (R-Woodstock) is the sponsor of HR 44, which “provide[s] that this state shall observe daylight savings time year round.”
“My bill would take us to daylight saving time because that would be the easiest of the two adjustments because you’re only switching four of the months out of the year,” Cantrell told CBS 46. “If we went to standard time, we would be switching eight of the months.”
“At the end of the day 90% of people hate time change,” he continued.
Fifteen states have already passed legislation to make daylight savings time year-round, which is part of Cantrell’s reasoning for the bill. But Congress would have to act to make daylight savings time permanent. Federal law currently bars any state from observing daylight savings time year-round.
“Florida, South Carolina, Tennessee, Louisiana and Arkansas have passed similar legislation, so if and when we go to daylight saving time permanently, pretty much the entire southeast is going together,” he told WSBTV. “I think it would be odder if we didn’t make the adjustment with the other states around us.”
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Pete D’Abrosca is a contributor at The Georgia Star and The Star News Network. Follow Pete on Twitter. Email tips to dabroscareports@gmail.com.
