Murray Co-Sponsors Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Year-Round

Senator Patty Murray, a Washington lawmaker, has co-sponsored a bill to make the United States Daylight Saving Time permanent, considering the two years after the state approved the change at the state level. Murray did the co-sponsorship to bring the Sunshine Protection Act in front of federal lawmakers. He did this alongside Sen. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.). 

The said act would make DST the new and permanent standard time. According to Murray, Americans want more sunshine and less depression. This is why he was proud to be a co-sponsor of the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act of 2021.

The Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 would extend DST permanently, allowing Americans to enjoy sunlight during their most productive hours of the day. Not only that, but they don’t have to worry about changing their clocks again.

The act, first introduced in Congress in 2018, was initiated by Senator Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) It was then reintroduced in 2019. Aside from co-sponsoring the bill, Murray also pushed the Biden Administration and the Department of Transportation to grant the states that have approved permanent Daylight Saving Time a federal waiver to do so.

Though there were a total of 19 states that have agreed to move to year-round Daylight Saving Time permanently, the switch requires federal approval. This is because states are only allowed to keep the standard time, not daylight saving time forever. These laws are based on the Uniform Time Act of 1966.