Is time running out on changing clocks twice a year? U.S. Sunshine Protection Act may hold key

Last March, after a surprising unanimous vote in the U.S. Senate chamber, it seemed that time may have run out on the age-old practice of changing clocks twice a year.

The problem, however, was that some senators weren't exactly aware of the ramifications of their unanimous vote to make daylight time permanent.

That means that similar legislation, reintroduced last week, may not fly through the Senate as easily this time around. And it raised questions as to whether there might be a bright future for Canadians who support keeping daylight time all year. 

"Personally, I'm more negative than I was last year," said Thomas Gray, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Texas at Dallas. "It passed the Senate last year, but it definitely passed because people weren't paying attention."

This Saturday, most Canadians and Americans will be setting their clocks ahead an hour as part of daylight saving time, meaning darker mornings, but more sunlight in the evenings. In the fall, clocks are moved back an hour, reverting to standard time.

However, some lawmakers in the U.S. are trying to end the biannual routine and establish daylight time throughout the year.

The Senate approved the proposed bill, called the Sunshine Protection Act, though a procedure known as unanimous consent, meaning it was passed through voice vote only, bypassing the normal debate time and vote count.

But the proposed bill had stalled for months in the House Energy and Commerce committee. It later expired at the end of the last session of Congress.

Last week, one of the sponsors and leading crusader of the bill, Republican Florida Senator Marco Rubio, reintroduced the proposed legislation in the Senate.

"This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid," Rubio said in a statement. "Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support. This Congress, I hope that we can finally get this done."

The future of the bill will be closely watched by Canadians seeking to make daylight time the norm. Some provinces have been promising for years to ditch the time change, but have cited a need for consistency with U.S. states for the delays.

"We are waiting for what's happening in the United States because there is a great benefit to alignment, especially for key provinces that have trade at stake," said University of British Columbia (UBC) business professor Werner Antweiler, who has followed the issue.

British Columbia Premier David Eby said the province's position of wanting to end the biannual time switch and remain "in-sync" with West Coast American states hasn't changed 

In B.C., legislation was passed four years ago to allow the province to permanently stay on daylight time. But then-premier John Horgan said the change would depend on Washington, Oregon and California doing the same.