Daylight Saving Time May Become Permanent In Mass.

I feel like I write this article once a year - but this time the country is closer than ever to a decision when it comes to changing or not changing the clocks.

A bill called the Sunshine Protection Act just cleared a big hurdle in Washington. The House Rules Committee voted 6-4 yesterday to move it forward, which means the full House could vote on it as soon as this week. If it passes, it would end the whole "spring forward, fall back" routine and make daylight saving time permanent, though states would get the choice to opt out. -nypost.com

President Trump has been pushing hard for this one. He's said cities and states waste hundreds of millions of dollars every year just changing clocks, especially the big ones in towers that need special equipment to adjust. He's calling it a win for everybody who's sick of dealing with the time change.

What this would mean for Massachusetts and The Berkshires

Now here's the part I think we need to talk about up here in the Berkshires. If daylight saving time becomes permanent, that means darker mornings in the winter. A lot sleep doctors are worried about kids walking to the bus stop or waiting for rides in pitch black. Anyone who's driven through a Berkshire County winter morning knows how dark it already gets before 7 a.m. Now imagine that getting worse.

States can opt out - but since Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey co-sponsored this bill originally - would the commonwealth really make that choice?

There's also a competing bill that would do the opposite and make standard time permanent instead, which would mean earlier sunrises but darker evenings. This is unlikely to go anywhere, however.

We've actually tried permanent daylight saving before. Nixon signed it into law back in 1974 and people hated it within a year because of how dark those winter mornings got for kids.