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As head scratchers go, the U.S. Senate's unanimous passage of the Sunshine Protection Act last month was a real doozy.
Unanimous? Who knew that making daylight saving time permanent was the single pressing issue that could bridge our country's political divide? Never mind pandemics, European invasions and homegrown insurrections, it appeared the only thing that could really bring our legislative branch together is an extra hour of evening light.
The bill caught America by surprise. There were also reportedly quite a few senators left scratching their heads. The Sunshine Protection Act was passed without ever coming to a vote through a process called unanimous consent. This is something generally reserved for ceremonial bills like the naming of post offices, or keeping the federal government funded.
It has been reported that many senators had no idea the bill was up for passage, and that some who did know and opposed it, thought somebody else was going to be in the chambers to object. If even just one senator expressed opposition to the bill it would have been shunted off to the proverbial boneyard of partisan politics.
Would've, could've, should've.
Now the bill goes to the House of Representatives where it has a legitimate chance of passing into law. A provision in the bill exempts Hawaii and Arizona, the only two states that do not use daylight saving time, but do we want to permanently be an extra hour behind the rest of the country? Could we begrudgingly embrace daylight saving time ourselves? Some would support that switch and others would contend things are fine just the way they are.
For those who do business on the Mainland, not turning the clocks forward each spring means they are an hour further away from the action. The same goes for those with family or friends living on the Mainland. Those extra 60 minutes of separation can prove the difference between picking up the phone and deciding it is too late to call. And, of course, there is the monumental choice of whether you prefer your NFL football games to start at 7 or 8 on Sunday mornings.
The bill still has a long way to go, but let's assume it does pass and Hawaii decides to follow suit. If we turn our clocks forward an hour, Maui's sunrise on the winter solstice, Dec. 21, would be 8 a.m. and sunset would be 6:50 p.m. On the summer solstice, June 21, sunrise would be 6:46 a.m. and sunset 8:10 p.m. That makes for some dark winter mornings and long summer evenings.
It will be interesting to hear how our Hawaii senators view the Sunshine Protection Act and where they were when it was slipped through by use of unanimous consent. Let's hope Hawaii residents have more say and better transparency should the adoption of permanent daylight saving time ever be proposed by our state Legislature.