Daylight Saving Time starts Sunday; Mississippi senators split on making it permanent

Daylight Saving Time begins Sunday, March 8, at 2 a.m., when clocks move forward one hour. The period runs through Nov. 1.

The question of whether to keep Daylight Saving Time year-round remains unresolved, and Mississippi’s two U.S. senators are on opposite sides of the debate. U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in comments to The Hill in December 2024 that permanent daylight time raised safety concerns when it was tried in the 1970s and would force many people to begin work in darkness for parts of the year.

U.S. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., expressed the opposite view in January 2025, joining Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., as an original co-sponsor of the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act of 2025. Hyde-Smith said permanent Daylight Saving Time would help farmers, boost the economy, improve public safety and benefit mental health.

Lawmakers have repeatedly filed federal bills to end the twice-yearly clock change, but none has reached the president’s desk. Some state legislatures, including Mississippi’s, have passed measures urging Congress to allow an end to the biannual time shifts. Hawaii never observes the time change, and Arizona opted out in 1968.

Source: Original Article