Why It Matters
The House passed legislation this week to make daylight saving time permanent year-round, shifting the national conversation about time zones and their public health and economic effects. New Jersey’s congressional delegation split on the measure, reflecting deeper divisions among lawmakers over whether permanent daylight saving time benefits or harms communities.
What Happened
The House voted 308-117 on Tuesday to advance legislation that would extend daylight saving time from March through November, eliminating the twice-yearly clock changes. Eight members of New Jersey’s 12-person delegation voted in favor, while four voted against the bill.
Representatives Frank Pallone and Josh Gottheimer, both Democrats, backed the measure. Pallone cited economic and recreational advantages, saying “extra sunlight means more time at the beach, more time eating out at restaurants and more time doing outdoor leisure activities.” Four lawmakers—Democrat Bonnie Watson Coleman and Republican Tom Kean Jr., along with Democrat Donald Norcross and Republican Chris Smith—opposed the bill.
Smith, whose district includes parts of South Jersey, raised safety concerns tied to winter sunrise times in New Jersey. He pointed out that the sun does not rise until after 8 a.m. on 67 days per year in the state, warning that permanent daylight saving time could endanger school-age children. “All those kids that are on their way to school – it increases the likelihood that they’ll get hit,” Smith said.
The bill faces an uncertain path in the Senate. Separately, legislation pending in the New Jersey state Assembly and Senate would adopt permanent daylight saving time at the state level, though it has not yet received a committee hearing.
By the Numbers
308-117 — House vote count for the permanent daylight saving time bill
Eight — New Jersey House members who voted for the legislation
Four — New Jersey House members who voted against the legislation
67 — number of days annually when sunrise in New Jersey occurs after 8 a.m.
March to November — months daylight saving time would be observed under the bill
Zoom Out
The debate over permanent time schedules has persisted for decades. Congress voted 311-88 in the House and 68-10 in the Senate in 1973 to establish daylight saving time as a national standard, which President Richard Nixon signed into law on December 15, 1973. However, the experiment proved unpopular. The Senate voted by voice vote in August 1974 to end the change, and President Gerald Ford signed legislation the following October to return to the prior schedule.
Currently, only Alaska and Hawaii observe permanent standard time year-round. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has recommended abolishing seasonal time changes in favor of fixed year-round standard time, citing health concerns. A 2015 Brookings Institution study suggested permanent daylight saving time could reduce crime, though research on the broader public health effects remains mixed.
The debate gained momentum in March 2022 when Secretary of State Marco Rubio passed Senate legislation on permanent daylight saving time via unanimous consent, but the measure never reached Former President Biden’s desk.
What’s Next
The bill’s future in the Senate remains unclear, and there is no timeline for a vote. Meanwhile, New Jersey state lawmakers will need to schedule committee hearings on their own permanent daylight saving time proposal before it can advance through the legislature.