NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A6443
SPONSOR: Santabarbara
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the general construction law and the administrative code
of the city of New York, in relation to establishing daylight saving
time as the year-round standard time in the state and in the city of New
York
 
PURPOSE:
The purpose of this bill is to establish Daylight Saving Time as the
standard time throughout the year for New York State.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the general construction law to establish the observa-
tion of eastern daylight time year-round.
Section 2 amends the administrative code of the city of New York to
establish the observation of eastern daylight time year-round.
Section 3 marks the effective date, which is contingent upon the enact-
ment of similar legislation in the neighboring states of Connecticut,
Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Vermont.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Currently, states are only permitted to exempt themselves from observing
Daylight Saving Time, not establish its permanence. This bill, should it
become law, would allow the state to establish Daylight Saving Time as
the permanent year-round time, contingent upon the repeal of the federal
law establishing Daylight Saving Time. There is active federal legis-
lation to abolish Daylight Saving Time; however, studies show that it is
the transition out of Daylight Saving Time, which leads to an increase
in car accidents, causes more on-site work incidents, and disrupts the
health of all who are subject to this time change.
This bill would, once there is a repeal of the federal law establishing
Daylight Saving Time, allow New York to enter into a compact with neigh-
boring states to establish Daylight Saving Time as the state's year
round time.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2020 - S. 9077 - Rules Committee.
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
None.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the states of
Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania of
legislation having an identical effect with this act.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
6443
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
March 17, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Governmental Operations
AN ACT to amend the general construction law and the administrative code
of the city of New York, in relation to establishing daylight saving
time as the year-round standard time in the state and in the city of
New York
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 52 of the general construction law, as amended by
2 chapter 377 of the laws of 1955, is amended to read as follows:
3 § 52. Time, standard. [1.] The standard time throughout this state is
4 [that of the seventy-fifth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich,
5 except as hereinafter provided, and all courts and public officers, and
6 legal and official proceedings, shall be regulated thereby.
7 2. At two o'clock ante meridian on the last Sunday in April of each
8 year the standard time throughout this state shall be advanced one hour
9 from that of the seventy-fifth meridian of longitude west from Green-
10 wich, and the time so advanced shall continue to be standard time
11 throughout this state until the last Sunday in October of the same year,
12 when such standard time, as so advanced, shall be retarded to that of
13 the seventy-fifth meridian west from Greenwich; and during such period
14 in each year all courts and public officers, and legal and official
15 proceedings, shall be regulated in accordance therewith] the time as
16 determined by 15 USC sections 260 to 267, except that the state observes
17 year-round the provisions of 15 USC 260a providing for the advancement
18 of time, commonly known as eastern daylight saving time if federal law
19 permits the year-round observation of eastern daylight time.
20 § 2. Section 2-106 of the administrative code of the city of New York
21 is amended to read as follows:
22 § 2-106 Daylight saving time; effect thereof on public proceedings.
23 The standard time throughout the city of New York is [that of the seven-
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD04704-01-1
A. 6443 2
1 ty-fifth meridian of longitude west from Greenwich, except that at two
2 o'clock ante-meridian of the last Sunday in April of each year such
3 standard time throughout the city shall be advanced one hour, and at two
4 o'clock ante-meridian of the last Sunday in October of each year, such
5 standard time shall, by the retarding of one hour, be returned to the
6 mean astronomical time of the seventy-fifth meridian of longitude west
7 from Greenwich, and all courts, public offices and legal and official
8 proceedings shall be regulated thereby] the time as determined by 15 USC
9 sections 260 to 267, except that the city observes year-round the
10 provisions of 15 USC 260a providing for the advancement of time, common-
11 ly known as eastern daylight saving time if federal law permits the
12 year-round observation of eastern daylight time.
13 § 3. This act shall take effect upon the enactment into law by the
14 states of Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Pennsyl-
15 vania of legislation having an identical effect with this act, but if
16 the states of Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Penn-
17 sylvania shall have already enacted such legislation, section one of
18 this act shall take effect immediately; provided that the secretary of
19 state shall notify the legislative bill drafting commission upon the
20 occurrence of the enactment of the legislation provided for in section
21 one of this act in order that the commission may maintain an accurate
22 and timely effective data base of the official text of the laws of the
23 state of New York in furtherance of effectuating the provisions of
24 section 44 of the legislative law and section 70-b of the public offi-
25 cers law.