ORLANDO, Fla. — In early March, the Florida Legislature voted to keep the state on daylight saving time year-round. The move, which enjoyed broad support in both chambers, was quickly signed into law by the governor.
That’s as far as it’s gone.
The United States Congress, not the Florida Legislature, gets the final say on when, or if, Florida gets to quit changing its clocks twice a year; and right now Congress isn’t interested.
“It is not the top issue on the agenda in Washington, but it matters to a lot of people,” says Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida). “The thing to do is to do it for the entire country. This whole changing back and forth, is not beneficial to anybody per se.”
Sen. Rubio has filed two bills: One would keep Florida on daylight saving year-round, the other would keep the entire country on daylight saving.
In 1966, Congress passed The Uniform Time Act. The law was designed to save the country energy and therefore save money. But in the years since its passage, daylight saving time has not proven to offer any real savings and has become, for many, an inconvenience.
“I think that if we could just be on one system that we are on year-round, it would be better. So we’ll see,” Rubio said.
But, while Florida’s state and federal lawmakers would like to make changes, the rest of the nation doesn't seem as interested. The bills, while not partisan, are also not a priority. Congress has many more pressing matters before it, leaving little energy to take up adjusting the clocks.
Watch raw footage of Christopher Heath's interview with Sen. Rubio below: