BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide. The bill now moves to the Senate, where it faces an uncertain future.
Supporters say the change would spare Americans from having to adjust their clocks twice a year, a shift that can disrupt sleep. Critics, however, warn that later sunrises could leave children traveling to school in the dark.
Daylight saving time is the period between spring and fall when clocks are set one hour ahead of standard time.
"We are already in daylight saving time, so we wouldn't spring ahead in the spring, and then we wouldn't be falling back in the winter. We would just continue on with having that extra hour later," 7 Weather Meteorologist Autumn Lewandowski said.
If the change takes effect, Western New York would see the most noticeable difference in winter. The latest sunrise, which falls on January 8, would shift from 7:46 a.m. to 8:46 a.m. The earliest sunset, on December 2, would move closer to 6 p.m., up from 5:41 p.m.
Lewandowski said the darker mornings are already drawing public attention.
"A lot of people wake up early, and it's going to be darker longer, so if the sun rises around 8:45 a.m., you're going to have daylight a little after 8 a.m., and I know a lot of people are talking about what that will be like for kids going to school," Lewandowski said.
WATCH: If daylight saving time became permanent, what could that mean for Western New York?
The potential change also has implications for local agriculture.
Providence Farm Collective in Orchard Park serves more than 200 farmers in Western New York.
"Our growing season is really short in Western New York, as we all know," Nicole Kubiczki, farm director at Providence Farm Collective, said.
Kubiczki believes permanent daylight saving time would benefit local farmers, particularly those growing vegetables.
"So I think it's important to convey that we're a vegetable farm, right? And so we're doing our business from May till October...When the snow is not flying," Kubiczki said. "And so as much daylight we can get in those evening hours during that May to October window for our farmers that are out here at this vegetable farm, and that's what's most important for us, and many vegetable farmers in WNY."
The bill to make daylight saving time permanent now moves to the Senate.
