BILL NUMBER: S7982

SPONSOR: COMRIE
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to amend the general construction law, in relation to eliminating
daylight saving time; to amend the public service law, in relation to
daylight saving time; and to repeal section 2-106 of the administrative
code of the city of New York relating thereto

 
PURPOSE:

To end the process of turning clocks ahead one hour in the spring and
turning them back one hour in the fall.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section one of the bill amends 52 of the general construction law to
authorize the state, acting under the exemption provisions of the
Uniform Time Act of 1966 (15 U.S.C.

Section 260a(a)), to exempt itself from the provisions of that law that
              

establishes daylight savings time. This section also rescinds the
requirement that the standard time throughout the state, established by
subdivision one of this section, be advanced one hour on the last Sunday
in April of each year at two o'clock ante meridian until the last Sunday
in October. This section also makes technical changes.

Section two of the bill amends subparagraph 1 of paragraph (b) of subdi-
vision 27 of 66 of the public service law to remove the distinction
reference for standard and daylight savings time.

Section three of the bill repeals 2-106 of the administrative code of
the city of New York related to the effect of proceedings through the
establishment of daylight savings time.

Section four of the bill provides the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

According to the Franklin Institute, the idea of Daylight Saving Time -
(DST) goes at least as far back as to an 1784 satirical piece by Ben
Franklin. However, it was not until when Congress passed the Standard
Time Act in 1918 which provided federal oversight of time zones by
implementing Standard time and DST in the United States that Americans
first uniformly began turning their clocks ahead and back.  A year
later, Congress repealed the portion of that law concerning DST and
thereafter DST was inconsistently used throughout the United States,
including in New York, where the City of New York chose to observe a
metropolitan DST while rural areas outside of New York City did not.The
resulting confusion prompted Congress to act in 1966 with the enactment
of the Uniform Time Act once against establishing DST from "2 o'clock
antemeridian on the last Sunday of April of each year and ending at 2
o'clock antemeridian on the last Sunday of October of each year," which
has since been adjusted to second Sunday of March through the first
Sunday of November. However, the act contains a clause allowing states
to exempt themselves from DST.


On October 15, 2020, the American Academy of Sleep. Medicine's Journal
of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that "an abundance of accumulated
evidence indicates that the acute transition from standard time to
daylight saving time incurs significant public health and safety risks,
including increased risk of adverse cardiovascular events, mood disor-
ders, and motor vehicle crashes." The Journal went on to say that where-
as the "chronic effects of remaining in daylight saving time year-round
have not been well studied, daylight saving time is less aligned with
human circadian biology-which, due to the impacts of the delayed natural
light/dark cycle on human activity, could result in circadian misalign-
ment, which has been associated in some studies with increased cardio-
vascular disease risk, metabolic syndrome and other health risks." The
American Academy of Sleep Medicine concluded "that these seasonal time
changes should be abolished in favor of a fixed, national, year-round
standard time."  Additionally, the agriculture industry opposed the
first implementation of DST because the sun dictates farmers' schedules,
and, as such, DST has been very disruptive.

The adoption of a year around standard time is not a new concept.
Currently, DST is not observed in Hawaii, most of Arizona, American
Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin
Islands.Colorado, Georgia, Oklahoma, and Pennsylvania are seeking to do
the same. This legislation will reduce public health and safety risk
while also benefiting the agriculture industry.

 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2023-24: A.5733 - Governmental Operations

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

None.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
January 1, 2026.