Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey Signs Daylight Saving Time Bill

Republican Governor of Alabama Kay Ivey signed a daylight-saving bill on Thursday, putting her state on daylight-saving time throughout the year. 

Ivey announced the move in a tweet, with a list of bills she signed: 

Today I signed:

SB 193 – This includes supplemental appropriations from the ETF Advancement & Technology Fund to various education entities.

HB 437 – the wine shipment bill

SB 388 – the Daylight Savings bill

Today I signed:

✅ SB 193 – This includes supplemental appropriations from the ETF Advancement & Technology Fund to various education entities.

✅ HB 437 – the wine shipment bill
 
✅ SB 388 – the Daylight Savings bill#alpolitics pic.twitter.com/k4AlKlUd5g

— Governor Kay Ivey (@GovernorKayIvey) May 13, 2021

The piece of legislation was extremely popular among state legislators, but a federal law will still need to be changed in order to allow states to enact such a move. The Alabama House of Representatives passed the bill 93-1 on May 6 and the state senate had approved it with a 29-0 majority. The bill’s sponsors are Sen. Steve Livingston, R-Scottsboro, and Rep. Ritchie Whorton, R-Owens Cross Roads.

“You go from March to November, one sort of time and switching to another time, it’s hard for folks to get used to the change,” Whorton said last week when the House passed the legislation. “A lot of people not used to getting up to the morning, running late and having an accident.”

Earlier this year, a bipartisan group of senators introduced such a bill that would eliminate the biannual changing of clocks around the country.

The piece of legislation was called the “Sunshine Protection Act,” and was put forward by U.S. Senators Marco Rubio (R-FL), James Lankford (R-OK), Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Rick Scott (R-FL) and Ed Markey (D-MA).

According to a press release from Rubio, Florida already passed a measure in 2018 similar to Alabama’s bill that would allow the state to keep Daylight Saving Time. A federal law is still needed in order for the Sunshine State to hold onto the change.

“The call to end the antiquated practice of clock changing is gaining momentum throughout the nation,” Rubio said. “Studies have shown many benefits of a year-round Daylight Saving Time, which is why the Florida legislature voted to make it permanent in 2018. I’m proud to reintroduce this bipartisan bill to make Daylight Saving Time permanent, and give our nation’s families more stability throughout the year.”

A fact sheet provided by Rubio’s office at the time explained the details of the bill, stating that it does not change any time zones, alter the number of hours of sunlight, or make the states and territories that do not already practice it adhere to Daylight Saving Time.

According to the fact sheet, Daylight Saving Time was created in the United States after Germany attempted to conserve fuel in 1916 during World War I. It originally only lasted for six months, but in 2005, Congress expanded the period to eight months of Daylight Saving Time and four months of standard time.

There are advantages to keeping Daylight Saving Time all year, as detailed by Rubio’s fact sheet. The increase in sunlight can provide better visibility for drivers, lowers the risk for some health issues, can help improve the economy, and more.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, in the last four years, “17 states have enacted legislation or passed a resolution to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change, and in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation.”

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