A GOP-authored proposal would eliminate daylight saving time in Wisconsin, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The move has the potential to affect all Wisconsinites, with particular implications for those doing business across state lines.
The most recent effort to remove the practice aligns with President Donald Trump’s December comments on social media, which described daylight saving time as “inconvenient and very costly.”
The Wisconsin proposal’s authors, Rep. Nate Gustafson and Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara wrote in a memo seeking sponsors for the measure that eliminating the practice would “promote public health, safety, and economic stability.”
Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March and ends at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November each year under current law; the proposal would effectively implement standard time year-round.
Federal law allows states that fall under one time zone, like Wisconsin, to eliminate daylight saving time as long as the change applies to the entire state. Studies have cast doubt on how much energy the practice of daylight saving actually saves, and some have shown the practice to be disruptive to people’s health and biological rhythms.
At least 31 states reportedly have considered or are considering bills or resolutions related to daylight saving time this year.
