Georgia Senate advances bill to end clock changes, adopt permanent DST

Changing clocks twice a year might be a thing of the past for Georgians. The Georgia Senate passed a bill Monday that would keep the state in daylight saving time all year.

House Bill 154, or the Georgia Sunshine Protection Act, passed the Senate with a vote of 45-5. The bill will head back to the House to vote on changes made in the Senate. The bill received no opposition in the House last year.

State Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, told WABE that he supports the bill.

“The Monday after a time change, whether we go forward or backwards, you see spikes in car accidents, strokes, heart attacks,” he said. “It’s a really big issue in the autism community. Teachers talk about how it disrupts their schedules with their students. So I think an overwhelming majority of Georgians would prefer to stop the change.”

This is not the first time Georgia lawmakers have tried to make the permanent switch to daylight saving time. They passed a bill in 2021 to end it, but the U.S. Congress must authorize the switch for it to go through.

However, this year’s attempt would move Georgia from Eastern Standard Time to Atlantic Standard Time, which is one hour earlier. To make this change, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy would need to approve it.

It’s unclear when the change would go into effect.

“It could be days, weeks or months after the governor petitions, but there is a chance that we may never have to fall back or roll back our clocks again, which is what I’m hoping for,” Hatchett told WABE.