Tuesday, November 5
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Get Ready to Fall Back as Daylight Saving Time ends Sunday

Daylight Saving Time

ASHEBORO N.C. – This Sunday you’ll be getting that hour of sleep you lost back in March back as we ‘fall back’ to end daylight saving time.

Daylight Saving Time (DST) will end on Sunday November 5th, 2023. At 2:00 a.m. (DST) clocks will be moved back one hour to 1:00 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST).

“When you set the clocks back at the end of daylight-saving time, it’s crucial to remember to change the batteries in your smoke alarms as well,” says Samantha East, Public Information Officer with Asheboro Fire and Rescue Department. “This simple task ensures that your smoke alarms are able to provide life-saving early warning in case of a fire.” East added that If the alarm chirps it’s a warning that the battery is low, and you should replace the battery or entire smoke alarm right away.

Image provided by NFPA

History of DST in the U.S.

In the United States, daylight saving time was first enacted under the Standard Time Act of 1918 in an effort to conserve fuel during World War I. After the war congress repealed the act, over the veto of the current president. After the repeal and through 1966 daylight saving time became an option for local governments. In 1967, the Uniform Time Act again mandated daylight saving time from April through October but allowed states to exempt themselves. 

The Uniform Time Act would undergo several changes over the years. In 2005, Congress extended DST to begin the second Sunday in March and end the first Sunday in November extending DST from six to eight months. 

FUN FACT
During the 1973 oil embargo by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), in an effort to conserve fuel, Congress enacted a trial period of year-round DST (P.L. 93-182), beginning January 6, 1974, and ending April 27, 1975.  (Source: Wikipedia)

Didn’t they pass a law to end this?

On March 15th, 2022, the Senate unanimously passed Sen. Marco Rubio’s Sunshine Protection Act—a bill that would eliminate the changing of clocks to standard time for the months between November through March, making daylight saving time permanent. 

After passing the Senate the bill was sent to the House of Representatives where it was never brought up for a vote, effectively killing it. 

Sen. Rubio has introduced the Sunshine Protection Act every year since 2018; 2021 marked the first time the bill wasn’t killed in committee.

In March 2023, Sen. Rubio reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act in the 118th Congress. After being introduced the bill was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation where it has not moved since then.