ROANOKE, Va. – In the past year or so, WSLS has run a handful of stories about the Sunshine Protection Act.
This was a bill that was introduced to make Daylight Saving Time permanent across the country.
Since its introduction (and passage through the U.S. Senate), there has been some confusion as to how we proceed.
I’ve seen plenty of comments on previous posts saying something to the effect of, “Glad we don’t have to set the clocks back again.”
In the words of college football commentator, Lee Corso, “Not so fast, my friend.”
The Sunshine Protection Act only passed through the U.S. Senate. Think back to the song “I’m Just a Bill” on ‘Schoolhouse Rock.’
The Sunshine Protection Act is “only a bill, and it’s sitting here on Capitol Hill.”
The House of Representatives did not pass it through to the President, so it has yet to become law.
What does that mean for us?
It means we’ll turn the clocks back an hour again on Sunday, November 5, 2023.
Some other confusion stems from the misconception that the SPA would give us more daylight.
Passing the Sunshine Protection Act wouldn’t give us extra daylight. It was just re-orienting it.
For example, the sun would set after 6 p.m. every day if this became law.
The sun would rise after 8 a.m. from mid-November to late February.
I spoke about potential consequences to the later sunrises in winter in a previous story.
The National Conference of State Legislatures says that 19 states have acted to make Daylight Saving Time permanent if Congress were to allow it.
Virginia is not one of those states yet.