VERIFY: Could President Trump Make Daylight Saving Time Year-Round?

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Are you enjoying Daylight Saving Time so much, you'd like to see an extra hour of sunshine all year long?

North Carolina lawmakers filed a bill to maintain Daylight Saving Time (DST) year-round. HB 350 proposes to stop the state from reverting to standard time from November to March, and there are similar measures under consideration in Florida and Arkansas. 

On the other hand, Arizona (except Navajo areas) and Hawaii opt out of Daylight Saving time, choosing to stay on Standard Time all year.

Meanwhile, U.S. senator Marco Rubio re-introduced a bill -- the Sunshine Protection Act -- to make Daylight Saving Time permanent across the country. And, President Donald Trump made headlines with his own comment, saying, "Making Daylight Saving Time permanent is OK with me!"

Good Morning Show viewer Kat McClellan saw this article about the President's remark and asked, "Can he even do that?"

VERIFY QUESTION

Could the President, alone, make Daylight Saving Time permanent?

VERIFY SOURCE

Jason Husser, Ph.D - Elon Poll Director

Uniform Time Act of 1966

VERIFY PROCESS

He explained the dates of Daylight Saving Time come from the Uniform Time Act of 1966. The only way the president could use executive authority to override it is if the law provides such discretion. It does not.

The law does allow states to exempt themselves from Daylight Saving Time, which is why Arizona can do so.

What if Congress were to pass the Sunshine Protection Act? It would override any state laws and thus force Arizona and Hawaii to comply. The Supremacy Clause in the U.S. Constitution stipulates any federal law supersedes any conflicting state law or constitution. 

VERIFY CONCLUSION

Could the President make Daylight Saving Time year-round? 

The answer is false, unless Congress first approves it. To be clear, President Trump never said he wanted to take executive action on this issue. He said only that he'd support the idea.

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