Wait, SC has to turn clocks back for daylight savings soon? Didn’t lawmakers decide to stop this?

Daylight saving time is set to end this fall as usual, but didn’t state and federal lawmakers decide to end this tradition?

Sort of — but not really.

Daylight saving time is set to end at 2 a.m. on Nov. 5, requiring all Americans to set their clocks back one hour. This year’s daylight saving time has been underway since March 12.

The longstanding tradition of moving clocks ahead or back one hour each year has been the bane of many a sleep-deprived American for decades, so much so, that some state and federal lawmakers have tried to stop it.

Didn’t SC vote to end daylight savings?

The South Carolina Legislature voted in 2020 to make daylight saving time permanent. That means the state would stop changing the clocks twice a year and would no longer have to endure darkness before dinner during the winter months. However, the law doesn’t take effect until Congress votes to do away with the time changes.

Congress voted for permanent daylight savings, right?

Well, unfortunately no.

It’s true that the U.S. Senate on March 15, by unanimous consent passed the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021. There was much buzz over the bill at the time, given that it would make daylight saving time permanent starting on Nov. 5, 2023 — that is, if the House and the president approved it.

As you can now probably guess that hasn’t happened. The bill was sent to the House, but nothing has been done with it.

Why make daylight savings permanent?

The U.S. has had some form of daylight saving time since 1918, with the current federal policy being enacted in 1966. There have been a few changes since then, mainly with changes to the start and end dates.

Daylight saving time was originally enacted as a way to save energy by providing more daylight in the evening hours. Some studies have called such savings into question.

Other studies have shown impacts on people’s health because of the time changes.