Q&A of the Day – What’s Happening w/The Sunshine Protect Act in Congress?
Bottom Line: Ahh yes, the legislative unicorn. You know it's funny. Over the course of my 25-year career there have been monumental policy shifts in our state and in this country which at various times may have looked implausible, but eventually were achieved. At the state level, school choice and homestead exemptions/expansions are among the first couple to come to mind. At the federal level a resurgence in US manufacturing (which President Obama once mocked the idea of) as a result of Chinese tariffs & the USMCA along with the overturning of Roe are top of mind. But there’s been one legislative unicorn which requires both state and federal action to achieve. Time changes. If you’re a longtime listener you’ve likely heard me lament this issue year after year. This is as efforts have been made by Florida’s representatives in Congress year after year to attempt to end them.
After Governor Rick Scott signed Florida’s Sunshine Protection Act into law in 2017, which would permanently leave Florida in Daylight Saving Time, the game was on to have it recognized at the federal level – which is necessary for Florida’s law to take effect. Senator Marco Rubio began the effort to have the federal Government respect Florida’s wishes to permanently remain in DST. Every year starting in 2018, Senator Rubio pushed the Sunshine Protection Act in the United States Senate. Each year it went nowhere. Not even being brought to a vote. This year was different and in March the United States Senate took up Rubio’s Act, co-sponsored ironically by the governor who signed it into law, now Senator Rick Scott and it passed unanimously – via a unanimous consent voice vote. That means after five years of legislative efforts all that’s left to bring this legislation to President Biden’s desk, and to put an end to time changes in Florida once and for all is...another act of Congress. As in the House of Representatives. Unfortunately, that’s proven to be a huge problem.
The headline in the July 25th story from The Hill says it all: Permanent daylight saving time hits brick wall in House. Yeah, so not just any wall. A brick one. That’s especially disappointing because House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who needs to be on board to bring it to a vote, evidently is. The current hang-up. Quoting key House Energy and Commerce Committee chairman, New Jersey Democrat Frank Pallone. Quoting him: “I can’t say it’s a priority”. So that’s the brick wall. And here’s the deal. If this doesn’t get done before January, the entire effort in Congress dies and must once again start from scratch in the new Congress. And here’s the still more frustrating thing. It’s not just about Floridians. Most Americans want it to.
Monmouth University polling on The Sunshine Protection Act shows 61% of Americans support it compared to only 35% who don’t. A YouGov poll similarly showed 59% support to only 19% who dissented. So, here’s a hugely popular piece of non-partisan legislation which would have a profound impact on our lives and it’s currently going nowhere in the House. This is the epitome of where the expression...it takes an act of Congress comes from. Notably, even if by minor miracle the House does the right thing and passes this before November 6th, when the time’s set to change once again, we’ll still be changing time twice again. The law would take effect in November of 2023.
This is a good reminder that we can all contact our elected House representatives and let them know that this legislation should be made a priority before the current Congress ends. With most currently running for reelection right now, its an especially instructive time to be doing so. As I’ve said so many times over the years, there are always 24 hours in a day, it’s absurd that we don’t recognize it. It's time to relegate time changes to the dust bin of history.
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Today’s entry: Submitted via talkback regarding the legislation which would end time changes in Florida.
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