SOUTHEASTERN N.C. — Early Sunday morning at 2 a.m., you “gain” an hour of sleep, as the clocks wind back and daylight saving time concludes.
Until winter solstice starts, there will be days with less light as the sun often sets before 6 p.m. (5:15 p.m. on Nov. 6 in Wilmington).
The days start getting lighter and “longer” by the end of January, until daylight saving time kicks in again on Mar. 12, 2023 and clocks “spring forward.
Congress enacted the Uniform Time Act in 1966, mandating clocks to be wound back in August and forwarded in April. The idea originated out of energy conservation, initially, but has evolved into an economic driver, with the thought process being people spend more money during daylight hours.
According to Tufts University, the biggest lobby to keep daylight saving time is the Chamber of Commerce that realize its marketing potential for retailers. It assesses workers who leave their jobs during daylight are more likely to stop and shop on the way home.
In 2007, the Energy Policy Act expanded the light months to eight a year and created today’s standard of clocks turning back during the first Sunday in November and moving forward the third Sunday in March.
Federal law doesn’t allow states to permanently observe daylight saving time, though about a third — Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, Wyoming, Arkansas, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, Florida and California — have enacted legislation or passed resolutions to recognize it year-round, should Congress ever shift.
Arizona, Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands follow standard time.
Earlier in the spring, the House Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on the issue and the Senate passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent. The Democratic-led House has not picked up the measure.
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