Tennessee residents react to daylight saving time legislation

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (WDEF) – On a sunny afternoon, many people find themselves at Coolidge Park.

“The weather has just been perfect the past several days,” Lookout Mountain resident John Moore said.

Daylight saving time gave the park goers an extra hour of that sunlight.

And it’s that extra hour some Tennessee lawmakers and residents would like to see remain year-round.

“It’s potentially a way to kind of acknowledge that it’s an outdated policy and help people that have seasonal depression,” Signal Mountain resident Kaitlin McKinley said.

State Representative Robin Smith, (R) Hixson is a Co-Sponsor of a bill to keep the state on daylight saving time all the time.

She said she feels there’s a health benefit to keeping the days longer and a potential energy saving benefit.

“We tend to fight a very sedentary lifestyle. I think it’s very, very helpful to have more daylight time for people after work and I think there’s a little bit of a safety element there too,” Rep. Smith said.

Tennessee resident Courtney Mills is originally from Saskatchewan.

She said where she lived, the time never changed.

“It’s really nice, actually,” Mills said. “I feel like it would be easier especially on kids when they’re in school, and not having to get up that extra hour earlier one time of the year.”

Moore said he’s indifferent to the change.

“I guess It would make more sense if you have all the states do the same thing, you know, just have the same time, but like I said I don’t think it makes a whole lot of difference. I think it kind of balances out,” Moore said.

Even if the legislation passes, it still has a ways to go.

Congress would have to pass a bill allowing the change.

Rep. Smith said the legislature would then revisit the bill to make sure there’s no unintended consequences.

The bill has passed the House.