(The Center Square) – A bill that could switch Georgia to Atlantic Standard Time is still pending as the General Assembly approaches its final day, but one group says it should fail.
Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, amended a House of Representatives bill addressing ambulance services into the legislation that would change Georgia’s time zone pending approval from the U.S. Department of Transportation. Georgians would not have to reset their clocks twice a year.
Senate passage on March 23 was 45-5.
Proponents of Daylight Saving Time have touted its benefits in terms of energy bills. Those claims are being debunked by scientists. A 2025 report from the Cato Institute on Daylight Saving Time said energy prices increase because consumers “run air conditioning for longer in the evenings and heating for longer in the mornings.”
Hatchett pitched his bill as a way to improve Georgian’s quality of life.
“I think more than ever, Georgians are dealing with a lot,” Hatchett told the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on March 19. “Families are balancing work schedules, child care, the rising costs of everyday life. They’re trying to do the work thing, work hard, raise their kids. And in time like these, we should look for opportunities, big and small, to make life a little bit easier and that’s what this bill does.”
Jay Pea, founder of Save Standard Time, disagrees that the bill would make life easier. The organization supports year-round standard time and works with organizations like the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society that agree that daylight savings time is not good, Pea said.
“Permanent standard time, the clock more aligned with the sun, is better for your circadian rhythm, it’s easier for your sleep health and that cascades into better mental health, better heart health, better performance for your children in school and yourself in the workplace,” Pea said in a video interview with The Center Square.
Under the Uniform Time Act, states can observe standard time all year without congressional approval. Hawaii and Arizona are the only two states that do not change their clocks twice a year. But 19 states have passed bills supporting a move to year-round Daylight Saving Time, which would require Congress to change the Uniform Time Act before it could be enacted.
“It all started in 2018 in Florida passing the first daylight saving bill with the support of the Florida golf industry,” Pea said. “And in 2019, five more states quickly followed, passing these permanent daylight bills. And in every single state there was no debate about should we keep permanent standard time or permanent daylight time.”
Hatchett’s bill would bypass congressional approval of year-round daylight saving time by invoking a law that allows states to appeal to the U.S. Department of Transportation, something rare and usually reserved for counties, according to Pea.
Georgia’s neighbor to the north, Tennessee, is one of several states considering a move to permanent standard time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Rep. Chris Todd, R-Madison County, introduced House Bill 2071 in January, but it hasn’t moved.
On the federal level, Republican U.S. Rep. Greg Steube of Florida has a bill pending that would require clocks to move one-half hour when enacted and then end Daylight Saving Time. The bill is in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
President Donald Trump indicated in 2024 that he would consider eliminating Daylight Saving Time.
“The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” Trump wrote on social media in December 2024 before taking office.
