Federal

DAYLIGHT Act

Source: Congress.gov · 403 words in original text

What This Bill Does

** This bill allows states to choose to observe daylight saving time (the practice of advancing clocks forward) all year long if they pass a state law to do so. The bill modifies the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to give states this new option. **

Who It Affects

** States and their residents. The Comptroller General (the head official of the Government Accountability Office, which audits federal spending and programs) must conduct a study. **

Key Provisions

** • States may pass a law to apply daylight saving time (clock advancement) for the entire year instead of just certain months (Sec. 2) • States may apply year-round daylight saving time to their entire area within any time zone (Sec. 2) • The Comptroller General must submit a report to Congress within 2 years after this law takes effect that studies what would happen if daylight saving time happened year-round (Sec. 3) **

What Changes

** If this bill becomes law, states gain the legal authority to keep daylight saving time in effect all year. Currently, states can only opt out of daylight saving time entirely. This bill gives them a new middle option. **

Important Definitions

** The bill uses "advancement of time" to mean daylight saving time (moving clocks forward). No other terms are formally defined in the bill. **

Effective Date

** Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1561 To allow States to elect to observe year-round daylight saving time, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 10, 2023 Mr. NORMAN (for himself, Mr. FRY, and Mr. WILSON of South Carolina) in- troduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on En- ergy and Commerce A BILL To allow States to elect to observe year-round daylight saving time, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Daylight All Year 4 Leads to Ideal Gains in Happiness and Temperament 5 Act’’ or the ‘‘DAYLIGHT Act’’. 6 SEC. 2. OPTIONAL YEAR-LONG APPLICATION OF DAYLIGHT 7 SAVING TIME. 8 Section 3(a) of the Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 9 U.S.C. 260a) is amended— 10 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Mar 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1561.IH H1561 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1561 IH (1) by inserting ‘‘or may by law apply the ad- 1 vancement of time described in this section for the 2 duration of the year,’’ after ‘‘may by law exempt 3 itself from the provisions of this subsection providing 4 for the advancement of time,’’; 5 (2) by striking ‘‘the standard time otherwise 6 applicable during that period’’ and inserting ‘‘the 7 same standard time’’; 8 (3) by striking ‘‘may by law exempt either the 9 entire State as provided in (1) or’’ and inserting ‘‘, 10 by law, may apply either standard time provided for 11 in paragraph (1) to the entire State,’’; and 12 (4) by inserting ‘‘, or may apply the advance- 13 ment of time for the duration of the year to the en- 14 tire area of the State lying within any time zone’’ 15 before the period at the end. 16 SEC. 3. GAO STUDY. 17 Not later than 2 years after the date of enactment 18 of this Act, the Comptroller General shall submit to Con- 19 gress a report containing the results of a study on imple- 20 menting daylight savings time year-round. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:05 Mar 25, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1561.IH H1561 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

Important: This plain English summary was generated by AI and is provided for informational purposes only. It is not legal advice. Always consult the official bill text on Congress.gov or a qualified attorney for legal matters.