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Florida Wants Daylight Saving Time Year-Round

It'll take more than the governor signing a bill to get the time change approved.
Posted at 10:45 AM, Mar 08, 2018
and last updated 2018-03-08 10:45:56-05

There's one thing most Florida lawmakers can agree on: daylight. Both the state House and Senate overwhelmingly approved a bill to keep daylight saving time going all year.

But Florida residents will still have a ways to go before they can stop messing with their clocks, even if Gov. Rick Scott signs the Sunshine Protection Act.

That's because the bill still requires lawmakers to ask U.S. Congress for approval.

Congress passed the Uniform Time Act in 1966 to standardize daylight saving time. Although states can exempt themselves if they choose, there's no provision in the federal law for making daylight saving time permanent. That's why Florida would need congressional approval.

Hawaii, most of Arizona and some U.S. territories don't observe daylight saving time. But the rest of the country will set clocks forward on Sunday — and lose an hour of sleep.