Florida State Legislature Passes HB 1013
Sunshine Daydream: Florida Bill Would Make Daylight Saving Time Year-Round
It’s the Saturday before the mid-term election (2022), and tonight when the State of Florida goes to sleep, many of her citizens won’t know what to expect in the morning.
Do we, or don’t we, change the clocks?
It’s a time crunch question that Floridians ask every fall and spring for the past four years. Many of us will simply go to sleep and find out our destiny in the morning. For most, it’s an inconvenience that we’ve all dealt with in the past, and will do so in the future. But there’s a really good reason why that shouldn’t be.
Way back in the year 2018, the Florida Legislature, in a bipartisan vote, passed HB (house bill) 1013, otherwise known as the Daylight Protection Act (DPA). Yet here we are four years later and Floridians are still screwing around with their clocks.
I wondered why. So this inquisitive Simple Bus Driver did what comes naturally to inquisitive simple bus drivers. I asked Google. And here’s what I found.
Tonight, despite passage of the DPA, Floridians will turn back their clocks and lose that precious hour of daylight once again. It’s all because of the way the Florida DPA is written. It was passed, and stands today, as state legislation that inextricably ties us to a bigger federal version of the same bill. As I understand it, this larger bill is nationwide and represents a huge hurdle to overcome because a majority of states (not just Florida) have to be on board with the idea.
But wait! It just so happens that a majority of states are on board with the DPA and multiple pleas to vote on it have gone unaddressed by whom? You guessed it, the democrat controlled House and Senate.
So here we are; the Free State of Florida isn’t quite as free from the shackles of tyranny as we thought we were. The Washington DC autocrats (liberal politicians) have their collective thumbs in places you can’t imagine. And this leads me to an even bigger issue. It’s one that should concern every American, not just Floridians.
Sticking with my DPA example, the determination of how a state sets its clocks should be made by the state, not the federal government. What’s good in Florida may not be good in Alaska, just like what’s good in Washington DC, is typically not very good anywhere else. If DC can use its power to subjugate Floridians on such a minor issue as the DPA, what else are they subjugating us on?
In the end, elections have consequences, so Vote!
And if you like the O’Biden America of today — just remember Democrats, this year you only get to vote once.
PS – Why was the legislation written the way it was in the first place? I think the onus here is on Marco Rubio, Rick Scott, and Vern Buchanan. The Florida legislature should rewrite the DPA for Floridians only. Florida will pass it again as a Florida law, and DC can go pound sand. If other states want the same thing, they can write their own laws.
Check out these links for more on the subject:
‘Make daylight saving permanent:’ Rick Scott calls on Senate to pass Sunshine Protection Act | WFLA
Daylight Saving Time 2022: Will Florida ever get to permanently spring ahead? | WFLA
Permanent daylight saving time for Florida delayed by federal inaction | WFLA
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