Summertime is here. Why do we still change the clocks in the USA and California? – NBC 7 San Diego

Yes, the sun sets earlier. And now, thanks to daylight saving time, the sun sets an hour earlier.

During Daylight Saving Time, Americans in every state except Hawaii and Arizona set their clocks back one hour Sunday, November 3rd, 2 a.m At this point the time will automatically reset to 1am Time travel!

The hours of sunshine have been steadily decreasing since the summer solstice (the first official day of summer). According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the sun will set as early as 4:55 p.m. on the evening of November 3rd.

Why do we change the clocks twice a year?

When you wake up at 2 a.m. this Sunday, yawn, adjust your nightcap, and turn the long hand back an hour, you might be wondering: Why are we still doing this?

Here's why.

If you vaguely remember a bill to abolish and make time changes permanent, it's not just your sleep-deprived brain talking.

Changing the clocks twice a year is a ritual that is not very popular. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, numerous states have adopted year-round daylight saving time laws.

Here's an update on the fight to end it.

The fight for the permanent introduction of daylight saving time

Back in March 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously passed the “Sunshine Protection Act,” introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida, which would have made daylight saving time permanent starting in November 2023, meaning Americans would no longer change their clocks or forward twice a year, according to NBC News.

This bill was blocked in the House of Representatives and expired.

However, in March 2023, Senator Rubio reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023 to make daylight saving time permanent across the country. There have been no significant updates since then.

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla. According to NBC News, Parliament has also introduced a bill to make daylight saving time permanent.

Senators from various states are all original co-sponsors of Senator Rubio's legislation, including California Senator Alex Padilla and the late Dianne Feinstein.

First, the House of Representatives must pass the bill, then the President must sign it before Americans can say goodbye to the time change.

A 2020 study published in Cell Press found that the risk of fatal traffic accidents increases by 6% each year when driving forward. The University of Michigan found that the number of heart attacks that occurred on Monday, shortly after the time change, increased by 24% compared to other Mondays.

Benjamin Franklin is credited for many things, but establishing Daylight Saving Time shouldn't be one of them.

Didn't Californians vote to end daylight saving time in 2020?

Yes, the Californians did it. Then why do we still change our clocks?

San Diegans may remember the vote on California's Proposition 7 in 2018.

This proposal passed with nearly 60% of the vote and gives California lawmakers the ability to change daylight saving time, according to Ballotpedia.

Proposition 7 didn't actually change daylight saving time, it just gave the California state legislature the ability to actually change it IF they get a two-thirds majority to do so (from both the California State Assembly and the California State Senate) and then IF the federal government already allows it.

However, states are allowed to set standard time year-round.

That's exactly what California Republican Sen. Roger Niello of Roseville (near Sacramento) wanted to accomplish by enacting SB 1413 in early 2024, according to CalMatters.

The bill passed the California State Senate on May 23 and was then sent to the Assembly, where it passed through several committees, most recently the Assembly Rules Committee.

According to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, standard time is a better fit for the human biological clock.

Would removing the time change help?

Perhaps. Maybe not! In the mid-1970s, daylight saving time was in effect year-round in the United States, but this quickly became unpopular and was reversed.

Regardless of the laws of time change, the Earth is still tilted on its axis by an average of 23.5 degrees, according to NOAA. This tilt is responsible for seasonal changes and therefore the amount of sunlight you receive where you live. Your location on Earth also influences how much sunlight you get in a year. In general, the closer you are to the equator, the more sunlight you get year-round, NOAA says.

If you REALLY don't like daylight saving time, it might be worth considering moving near the equator, where seasonal changes have little effect on the length of daylight, according to NOAA.

Can my state turn off Daylight Saving Time?

States are actually allowed to opt out of daylight saving time and keep standard time year-round (as Hawaii and Arizona have done). However, according to the Old Farmer's Almanac, they are not allowed to implement daylight saving time year-round.

NBC 7's Ashley Matthews speaks with a Sharp doctor about exercise methods to help your body adjust to daylight saving time.

Where did summer time come from?

Shortly before the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Standard Time Act, which enacted daylight saving time in the United States for the first time in March 1918, according to the Library of Congress. The move was intended to save energy costs during the First World War.

About a year later the law was repealed due to the end of the war.

During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted a year-round daylight period in February 1942, which he called “wartime.” This summer period lasted until September 30, 1945.

The passage of the Uniform Time Act in 1966 mandated standard time within established time zones throughout the country. However, states could still opt out.

When the oil embargo was imposed in 1973, America had to conserve energy. So President Richard Nixon signed a year-round daylight saving time (DST) law in hopes of easing the national gas crisis.

Congress established a trial period for year-round daylight saving time from January 1974 to April 1975.

The time change was unpopular. According to NBC News, eight Florida children died in traffic accidents related to the time change.

Permanent daylight saving time was repealed by President Gerald Ford in October 1974.