Last year, Assemblyman Angelo J. Morinello (R,C,I,Ref-Niagara Falls) introduced a bill to eliminate daylight savings time in New York state. Federal law allows states to opt out of daylight savings time, and many New Yorkers hope to see an end to this time change. Due to daylight savings, Americans lose around 40 minutes of sleep on the night after the time shift. This sleep deficiency can result in less productivity and can cost the economy up to $434 million a year. The time change also has a negative effect on patients who take a scheduled medication. Morinello first introduced this bill last March, but it was referred to committee and remained stagnant since then.

“When you look at the health effects, it’s clear that daylight savings causes more problems than benefits to state residents,” said Morinello. “Each time we face a time shift, I have constituents reaching out to me with complaints about their mental and physical health. Studies have shown the detrimental effects caused by daylight savings, so it’s time that the Legislature acts on this important issue. I was deeply disappointed by the lack of progress this bill made last year and I hope it will move forward to a floor vote this year.”