Bill Exempting Connecticut From Daylight Saving Time Would Have Year-Round Implications, Officials and Clinicians Say

SOMERS, CT — If a bill proposed by a state House of Representatives member representing parts of Somers and Stafford passes committee and then survives a floor debate, the Daylight Saving Time observance could be wiped from the state's decrees.

In its place would be a law exempting Connecticut from putting the time change in place.

Kurt Vail, a Republican who represents Somers and Stafford in the 52nd District, has pre-filed the bill. It would likely remain a house-submitted bill but to what committee it would be sent remains to be seen, House Republicans said Wednesday.

The 2017 legislative session begins Jan. 4.

The bill would have year-round implications, according to House Republicans.

The stated purpose of the daylight saving time change, according to the wording of the bill, is to “allow Connecticut to maximize additional daylight in the evening in order for residents, employers, and businesses to get the most beneficial use of their time as a way to increase productivity and create additional consumer opportunities for Connecticut residents.”

Stephen Kinsella of the Southbury-based Perspectives Treatment Center said he both applauds and supports the bill.

"I agree with the rationale that if passed and signed into law, Connecticut would be able to maximize additional daylight in the evening in order for residents, employers, and businesses to get the most beneficial use of their time as a way to increase productivity and create additional consumer opportunities for Connecticut residents," he said.

Kinsella added there is "an equally compelling reason why this bill should be signed into law."

He said, Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD, is a type of depression that's related to the decreased in sunlight that occurs in late Autumn and Winter.

"Seasonal Affective Disorder as major depressive disorder with a seasonal pattern. It is estimated that 14 percent of American adults in northern climates suffer from this illness. Daylight Saving Time exacerbates this illness dramatically and needlessly for those who have it. Having even an hour's more sunlight in the afternoon and evening time would make a substantial difference for those sufferers who work and commute during traditional hours."

If the bill passes, commuters to and from Massachusetts would face two times in the summer, similar to what those in Arizona and Nevada go through in the summer.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock