VOTE: Should Daylight Saving Time Be Permanent in South Dakota?

Before getting into the article; there is the debate of which spelling is correct; daylight savingS or daylight saving. While both terms are widely used in Western countries, many editors prefer to use 'saving', implying that 'savings' is incorrect. Does it really matter? Say what you want.

Some say that there are issues created by changing our clocks twice a year and some of those arguments are valid. However, in this article, I want to focus on what South Dakota and Washington DC are doing to keep daylight saving time permanent.

According to Timeanddate.com, South Dakota first observed daylight saving time in 1970. Since then the issue of whether South Dakota should ditch the practice of changing our clocks has been brought up by state lawmakers. The most recent attempt by the South Dakota legislature was in 2020, but the bill failed.

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19 states have already passed legislation at the state level to keep daylight saving time permanent in those states. The problem is Congress must first pass a federal law to allow states to enact permanent daylight savings time and that hasn't happened yet.

However, there is hope for those who want more daylight in winter. There is a bill at the federal level called the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021. The bill was introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida and is co-sponsored by 33 representatives including Dusty Johnson of South Dakota. The bill was sent to the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Commerce and as of now, is in limbo.

Speaking of Rep Johnson, he has created a new poll asking the people of South Dakota whether we want permanent daylight saving time or to continue changing our clocks. You can let Rep Johnson know by voting here.