SYRACUSE, N.Y. (WSYR-TV) – You ask, we answer!

The Your Stories Team has taken a few questions from viewers who were curious if we needed to change the clock back an hour this fall.

Why you might be thinking, “Yeah, we do every year,” clock confusion is why this question is being asked.

We’ll get to the confusion in just a second, but to answer the question, yes, we will change the clock back an hour on Sunday, November 5 at 2 a.m.

Now to the clock controversy. There have been efforts on the state and national level to “lock the clock” and not change it twice a year.

Earlier this year, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023. It’s similar to the bill that passed in the Senate last year but failed to make its way out of the House of Representatives. It’s currently stuck in the Senate Committee of Commerce, Science and Transportation.

New York is one of dozens of states where bills have been filed to stop changing the clock. Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbara and State Senator Joseph Griffo sponsored bills S1929/A3535. In February of this year, the bill was referred to the Governmental Operations Committee. No further actions have been taken at this time.

Here’s a portion of the bill:

The purpose of this bill is to establish Daylight Saving Time as the
standard time throughout the year for New York State.

Currently, states are only permitted to exempt themselves from observing
Daylight Saving Time, not establish its permanence. This bill, should it
become law, would allow the state to establish Daylight Saving Time as
the permanent year-round time, contingent upon the repeal of the federal
law establishing Daylight Saving Time. There is active federal legis-
lation to abolish Daylight Saving Time; however, studies show that it is
the transition out of Daylight Saving Time, which leads to an increase
in car accidents, causes more on-site work incidents, and disrupts the
health of all who are subject to this time change.

This bill would, once there is a repeal of the federal law establishing
Daylight Saving Time, allow New York to enter into a compact with neigh-
boring states to establish Daylight Saving Time as the state’s year
round time.

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