Editing Atlantic Time Zone (section)

==U.S. states considering a change to Atlantic Standard Time==

All six of the [[New England]] states in the northeastern U.S., currently in the Eastern Time Zone (with daylight saving time), have considered legislation to shift to UTC−04:00, equivalent to Atlantic Standard Time (with no observance of daylight saving time) or Eastern Daylight Time. Virtually all of this region is west of the theoretical western border of the zone at 67.5°W; only a small part of [[Maine]] lies east of that meridian. A [[Massachusetts]] commission concluded in 2017 that the benefits of changing to Atlantic Standard Time year-round would outweigh the disadvantages, provided that a majority of northeastern states make the same change.<ref>{{cite news|title=Commission: Massachusetts Should Change Time Zones, But Not On Its Own|url=http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/11/01/massachusetts-time-zone-change-daylight-saving/|access-date=March 15, 2018|date=November 1, 2017|language=en}}</ref> In May 2017, the [[Maine Senate]] approved a change to AST, on the condition that there would be a referendum, and that Massachusetts and [[New Hampshire]] decided to make the same switch.<ref name="timedatemaine">{{cite web|title=Maine Considers Atlantic Standard Time|url=https://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/maine-ast.html|website=www.timeanddate.com|access-date=March 15, 2018|language=en}}</ref> Also in 2017, the [[New Hampshire House of Representatives]] approved a bill in favor of a regional change, but this was voted down by the [[New Hampshire Senate|state's Senate]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Senate votes down push to switch N.H.'s time zone|url=http://www.concordmonitor.com/time-zone-change-atlantic-9808198|access-date=March 15, 2018|date=May 11, 2017}}</ref> Similar bills have been put forward in [[Connecticut]], [[Rhode Island]], and [[Vermont]].<ref name="timedatemaine" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190115/connecticut-bill-is-latest-calling-for-time-zone-change|title=Connecticut bill is latest calling for time zone change|last=Haigh|first=Susan|date=2019-01-15|work=Providence Journal|access-date=2019-09-10|quote=In Vermont, Democrat Rep. Samuel Young this year has submitted legislation that would establish year-round Eastern daylight saving time.}}</ref>

In 2018, [[Florida]] enacted into law the "Sunshine Protection Act", under which the state would observe daylight saving time year-round. Most of the state would permanently keep Eastern Daylight Time, which is equivalent to Atlantic Standard Time; the state's [[Florida panhandle|panhandle]] region would move to year-round [[Central Time Zone|Central Daylight Time]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article196453714.html|title=Should Florida keep Daylight Saving Time all year? It could happen.|website=miamiherald|language=en|access-date=2019-03-12}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-daylight-saving-law-20180703-story.html|title=Florida's year-round daylight saving time law on hold in Congress|last=Lemongello|first=Steven|website=OrlandoSentinel.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-03-12}}</ref> However, the change cannot take effect until it is passed into federal law by the [[United States Congress]].<ref name=":0" />

On March 15, 2022, the [[United States Senate]] voted unanimously to advance a federal version of the "Sunshine Protection" legislation from Florida, also called the "Sunshine Protection Act", to the [[United States House of Representatives]];<ref>{{Cite web |last=Palya |first=Ashley |date=2022-03-15 |title=Turning Back Clocks A Thing Of The Past? Senate Passes Sunshine Protection Act |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/turning-back-clocks-thing-past-senate-passes-sunshine-protection-act-3438504 |access-date=2022-03-17 |website=International Business Times}}</ref> the bill was not brought to a vote in the House.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Schnell |first1=Mychael |title=Permanent daylight saving time hits brick wall in House |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3571007-permanent-daylight-saving-time-hits-brick-wall-in-house/ |work=The Hill |date=July 25, 2022}}</ref> A similar bill was introduced in the Senate in 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bink |first1=Addy |title=Daylight saving time: New bill could stop the clocks from changing |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/3880009-bill-to-make-daylight-saving-time-permanent-reintroduced-in-congress/ |work=The Hill |date=March 2, 2023}}</ref>