CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WJZY) -- Spring forward. Fall back: two phrases every American is familiar with.
Daylight saving time (DST) takes place this year on Nov. 7, which is a time that some or many people dread because it gets darker much earlier in the evening, however, you do gain an hour of sleep.
Spring Forward. Fall Back
When you spring forward, you lose an hour of sleep, but you gain an hour of daylight. When you fall back, the opposite happens. Falling back happens each year on the first Sunday in November. Springing forward happens each year on the second Sunday in March. Both events happen at 2 a.m.
Hawai'i, most of Arizona and the U.S. territories including American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands do not observe daylight saving time.
When Did it Begin in the U.S.?
March 19, 1918
Political Debate
Daylight saving time has become a bit of a political football in recent years.
About a dozen states, including North Carolina and South Carolina, have introduced legislation to make the extra hour of daylight permanent.
A federal statute would be required for the law to go into effect. North Carolina announced this past spring they were in favor of the legislation.
Florida has become one of the most vocal. In 2019, then-Governor Rick Scott passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make DST permanent. Sen. Marco Rubio reintroduced the bill this past spring.
In 2019, President Donald Trump voiced his support for the change on his personal Twitter account before it was suspended.
Why Was it Established?
Daylight saving time was established to create an extra hour of light to preserve energy and coal at night, according to historians.
Laws were passed in the U.S. during World War I as a means to extend the workday and conserve fuel for war industries, according to the U.S. Library of Congress.
It was replaced when the war ended but came back during World War II. President Lyndon B. Johnson established DST as a policy in 1966 with the Uniform Time Act.
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