Daylight saving time is still a thing in Louisiana - for now
Along with fall comes the end of daylight saving time, when most people nationwide will have to set their clocks back one hour. Several states, including Louisiana, have enacted legislation in support of never again switching the clocks an hour backward, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
If the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 becomes law, the bill would make daylight saving time the new, permanent standard time as of Nov. 5, 2023. That means once clocks spring forward next March, they would not change in November of next year.
The Senate voted unanimously to pass the bill on March 15. The bill now awaits a House vote. If it crosses the federal finish line, Louisiana will automatically apply permanent daylight saving time because of a law passed by Haughton Republican state Rep. Dodie Horton in 2020.
But for now, Louisiana residents should prepare to turn back the clocks this weekend. Here are a few quick facts about daylight saving time.
When does daylight saving time end?
Daylight saving time “ends” on the first Sunday of November. This year, the time change will happen at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 6. That's when 2 a.m. local time instantly becomes 1 a.m. and people recover the hour of time they gave up when DST started in March.
An increasing number of devices, such as computers and cellphones, will reset themselves automatically, leaving you to change clocks on older, non-connected electronics. (The biannual time change is also a good reminder to swap out the batteries in your home's smoke detectors.)
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Why do we change our clocks in the first place?
Though it comes up twice every year without fail, the concept of daylight savings leads to confusion and conversation.
Germany introduced daylight saving time in 1916 as a way to make daylight last longer to conserve fuel and power during World War I. The U.S. adopted it in 1918, then abolished it after the war, but still allowed it on a state-by-state basis, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The federal 1966 Uniform Time Act, which became law because of the random way states had been observing daylight saving time up until then, has been a roadblock for supporters of year-round daylight saving time. The act allows states either to change clocks to daylight saving time at a specified time and date or remain on standard time all year.
The Department of Transportation, which is in charge of daylight saving time, says the practice saves energy, prevents traffic accidents and reduces crime. But some experts and studies suggest the negative cognitive and physical impacts, including sleep disruption, may outweigh the benefits of daylight saving time.
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Are there any states that don't change their clocks?
A few states and U.S. territories do not observe daylight saving time, including Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and most of Arizona.
Wait, isn't it ‘daylight savings time?’
No. "Daylight saving time" is the correct form of the term despite the common use of "daylight savings time."
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Daily Advertiser: Daylight savings time 2022 in Louisiana: Do we change our clocks?
