HARRISBURG, Pa. — It’s that time of year again. Sunday marks the end of Daylight Saving Time, meaning that clocks will be set back an hour.
The time change is being met with dreaded anticipation.
“I would rather stay at one time, so you don’t have to switch up any type of scheduling," said York resident Roberto Rosado.
“It is an annoyance because of meetings, or if you forget to set your clock," said resident Sandy Beatty. "I think it should stay the same.”
Nearly 60% of Americans want to end the changing of clocks, according to a recent Monmouth poll. Republican State Representative Ryan Mackenzie is one of several lawmakers who proposed bills to end the practice.
“The least popular thing we can do is to continue to switch times twice a year," said Mackenzie.
Mackenzie introduced Pa. House Bill 335 and co-signed Pa. House Bill 846, which would make a uniform standard of time and eliminate Daylight Saving Time in Pennsylvania.
The bills match similar legislation introduced by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio called the "Sunshine Protection Act." That bill passed the Senate unanimously in 2021.
However, legislative efforts at the state and federal level have stalled.
“It’s a legislative process. And so, unfortunately, a lot of legislation takes a long time," said Mackenzie. "It gets debated at the state and national level, we want to move in as much in unison as possible.”
Mackenzie says lawmakers also debate whether to permanently stay on Daylight Saving Time or remain on Eastern Standard Time.
Regardless of which time, he says he’ll support any legislation that ends the practice of changing clocks.
“Either of those is preferable to the standard that we’re on right now, where we’re switching back and forth," said Mackenzie.