You may not have to hear the endless moans and groans of tired teenagers anymore–or at least not because they lost an hour of sleep when our clocks sprang forward. On March 23, the Georgia Sunshine Protection Act, a law meant to change Georgia from the Eastern Time Zone to the Atlantic Time Zone, was passed through the Senate.
Georgia’s current governor, Brian Kemp, signed a law for permanent daylight saving time a whopping five years ago, back in 2021. However, nothing came of the bill because the Uniform Time Act was never repealed since its creation in 1966. This means that Congress has to approve the Georgia Sunshine Protection Act in both houses for exemption from the time zone change to be legally implemented, according to WSB-TV.
The same bill was attempted to pass last year, but it died in the Senate. This time, it’s up to the House of Representatives to determine if we get to see sunshine after 6 p.m.
Georgia Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy would also have to approve, according to CBS News, because the Uniform Time Act of 1966 requires the Secretary of Transportation to govern over time zones when Congress doesn’t. That is to say, either Congress must repeal the Uniform Time Act, or they must approve an exemption to daylight saving time by allowing the state of Georgia to change from EST (Eastern Standard Time) to AST (Atlantic Standard Time) permanently. It’s meant to be a creative loophole to stop the disruption that time changing causes, if it can be approved.
“I feel like we should [repeal the Uniform Time Act], because we are past the historical context for why we made it to begin with; we’re past that era,” states Melissa Combs, an AP Government and U.S. History teacher at North.
Specifically, the bill highlights that the biannual change disrupts school and transportation scheduling and sleep–and therefore work. The argument is that the increased daylight hours in the afternoon promote better habits, including recreation and family time.
“Some people don’t drive well at night,” says Combs, “and I think there’s this subconscious effect of ‘oh, it’s dark, I have to get ready for bed.’” With the sun out in the evening, the bill might actually achieve its goal. Going out in the dark can be dangerous, so Combs is more likely to go on walks or spend some family time outside if there is still daylight after she gets home from work.
The main concern surrounding the time zone change actually has to do with other states. Instead of only being an hour off from some bordering states, Georgia will have at least an hour difference from all states, with some being a two-hour difference like in Alabama or Tennessee. “With our society being so mobile, [the time change] will be an issue,” Combs predicts. These issues would be even greater for those who live near the Georgia border.
As of now, the state of Georgia is waiting for the House of Representatives to make their decision which determines if we join Arizona and Hawaii in a permanent time zone, or if we are stuck springing forward an hour in March and falling back an hour in November.
