South Carolina citizens and the rest of the country may not be turning back the clocks this fall if a bill that was introduced in the U.S. Senate passes.
U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, of Florida introduced legislation that would keep clock settings in place until November of 2021. This would mean that South Carolina would not “fall backwards” or “spring forwards” next March.
In a release Sen. Rubio stated, “Our government has asked a lot of the American people over the past seven months, and keeping the nation on Daylight Savings Time is just one small step we can take to help ease the burden. More daylight in the after school hours is critical to helping families and children endure this challenging school year.”
The realse also stated that this bills aim is to provide some stability for families in the middle of a pandemic.
A release from the Senator’s listed some potential benefits of the change:
- Fewer car wrecks involving pedestrians with daylight hours better aligned with drivers’ standard work hours
- Reduced risk of caridac issues, stroke and seasonal depression
- Reduced childhood obesity and increased physcial fitness because of additional daylight
- Maintain syngery between farmers’ schedules and their supply chain partners
While this bill would seek a temporary end of resetting clocks a more permanent bill has been discussed as well.
In South Carolina, a bill passed in the State House this year paved the way for that to happen, but it’s contingent on Congress authorizing states to observe Daylight Savings time year-round by amending a federal statue.
11 other States, including Florida have passed similiar laws in their respective states, according to Rubio’s office.
Daylight savings time began during World War I in Germany when the country was looking for ways to save energy. Germany moved the clock forward to have more daylight while people were at work. Several countries, including the United States in 1918, followed suit for the duration of the war.
It was used again during World War II as a way to save energy for war productions and later became a national standard in the U.S. in 1966 when Congress passed the Uniform Time Act.