What Are the Odds Daylight Saving Time Will be Made Permanent this Year?

The House recently passed a bill, called the Sunshine Protection Act, that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent. This is something that's been introduced year after year but it never ends up getting signed into law.

Here are the odds that it'll actually become law this year, why some people are opposed to it, and why Minnesota may still have to change clocks even if it does become law.

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Why Some Don't Want to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent

Many people have argued over the years that if we make Daylight Saving Time permanent, there will be a portion of the year where kids standing out at bus stops and people commuting to work will be in the dark. Safety-wise, that's not great.

When the bill was being discussed last summer, one Representative pointed out, according to NBC, that there would be some states where, at certain points of the year, the sun wouldn't rise until 9 AM.

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On the other side of the coin, there are arguments about how making the time change twice a year is tough on our bodies and mental health, which is part of the push to pass the bill.

While the House passed the bill pretty easily (308-117), people are skeptical that it'll pass the Senate. It hasn't in the past.

What are the Odds That Daylight Saving Time Will be Made Permanent?

A website called GovTrack.us tracks acts that are being talked about in government and provides a percent chance of it passing.

For the Sunshine Protection Act, they say there's only a 35% chance of the bill being signed into law. And since the Senate hasn't passed it when it's been brought to the table before, I wouldn't be surprised if it doesn't pass again.

However, if it does pass, there's the possibility Minnesotans would still have to change their clocks.

Why Minnesotans May Still Have to Change Their Clocks

NBC writes that if the law passes, is a "state exempted itself before the act took effect" then they would still continue to change their clocks.

Since Minnesota is one of the states that would be heavily affected by not changing our clocks and having kids at bus stops and people commuting to work in the dark, it wouldn't surprise me if our state decides to exempt ourselves from the act.