NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – Sunday night we are getting reaction to President-elect Donald Trump’s proposal to eliminate daylight saving time for good.
I heard from local lawmakers Sunday night, who are weighing in on the impacts if this were to pass. “It’s lighter in the morning, it;s better for school it’s better for traffic you know its better for transportation,” said State Representative Angelo Puppolo.
The clocks, springing forward, or falling back, could become a thing of the past, after president-elect Donald Trump said he wants to end it for good once he’s in office, calling it an inconvenience and costly.
“I think it be intriguing to see what life is like with the same time all year round,” said Marcia Bergeron of Easthampton.
Here in Western Massachusetts, State Rep. Angelo Puppolo Jr. tells 22news that he sponsored a state-level bill, H. 3103 that would end the practice of switching clocks and keep standard time.
The bill specifies that this permanent standard time would apply to all laws, statutes, orders, rules, and regulations related to time, including in public schools, institutions, and contracts within the state. The bill’s provisions would only take effect upon enactment of similar legislation in the neighboring states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont, and upon a date agreed upon by all five states.
He’s worked with many local doctors on this including Dr. Karin Johnson at Baystate, and found time change is harmful to the body, sleep, and mental health.
“It just allows for better sleep patterns, more of a natural occurence with the body, you know sleeping in the dark at night and waking up in brightness,” said Puppolo.
Safety concerns are at the forefront of the arguments to keep daylight saving time. For example, in western Massachusetts, it would not get light until between 7:30AM and 8AM during the winter months, and the concern is that significantly darker mornings…could impact safety for commuters and children going to school.
There have been several bills introduced to make daylight saving time permanent, but so far all of them have stalled.
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