SB 364 — An Act amending the act of April 13, 1887 (P.L.21, No.18), entitled "An act for the establishment of a uniform standard of time throughout the Commonwealth," providing for Atlantic standard time; and prohibiting the use of daylight saving time.

PRINTER'S NO.    314

                     THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                        SENATE BILL
                        No. 364
                                               Session of
                                                 2025

     INTRODUCED BY BOSCOLA AND DUSH, MARCH 3, 2025

     REFERRED TO STATE GOVERNMENT, MARCH 3, 2025


                                    AN ACT
 1   Amending the act of April 13, 1887 (P.L.21, No.18), entitled "An
 2      act for the establishment of a uniform standard of time
 3      throughout the Commonwealth," providing for Atlantic standard
 4      time; and prohibiting the use of daylight saving time.
 5      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 6   hereby enacts as follows:
 7      Section 1.    The General Assembly declares that the sole and
 8   uniform legal standard of time throughout this Commonwealth,
 9   including municipalities of this Commonwealth, shall be Atlantic
10   standard time and that daylight saving time shall not be used as
11   a standard of time.
12      Section 2.    Section 1 of the act of April 13, 1887 (P.L.21,
13   No.18), entitled "An act for the establishment of a uniform
14   standard of time throughout the Commonwealth," is amended to
15   read:
16      Section 1.    Be it enacted, &c., That (a) on and after the
17   first day of July, Anno Domini one thousand eight hundred and
18   eighty-seven, the mean solar time of the [seventy-fifth]
19   sixtieth meridian of longitude west of Greenwich, commonly
 1   called [eastern] Atlantic standard time, shall be the sole and
 2   uniform legal standard of time throughout this Commonwealth; and
 3   on and after the date aforesaid all days shall everywhere be
 4   taken to begin and end in accordance with said standard; and
 5   every mention of, or reference to, any hour or time in any and
 6   all existing future acts of Assembly, municipal ordinances, and
 7   corporate bylaws, in any and all existing or future rules or
 8   regulations adopted by any public officer or official board, in
 9   any and all rules of the courts of the Commonwealth or any of
10   them, whether standing or special, and whether now in force or
11   hereafter to be promulgated, in any and all orders, judgments
12   and decrees of said courts of any of them, and judgments and
13   sentences of magistrates pronounced or entered on or after the
14   date aforesaid, in any and all contracts, deeds, wills, and
15   notices, and in the transaction of all matters of business,
16   public, legal, commercial, or otherwise,--shall be construed
17   with reference to, and in accordance with, the said standard
18   hereby adopted, unless a different standard is therein expressly
19   provided for: Provided, however, That this act shall not operate
20   to impose upon any person any forfeiture of rights, or subject
21   him to the consequences of any default, by reason of any
22   failure, occurring prior to the date aforesaid, to comply with
23   the requirement of, or do any act under or in pursuance of any
24   law, ordinance, contract, notice, deed, will, regulation, rule,
25   order, judgment, sentence, or decree, if such person shall,
26   before the said date, have properly done the act or acts which
27   would be requisite to save such forfeiture or prevent such
28   default had this law not been enacted: And provided, further,
29   That when the standard time shall be advanced, for any portion
30   of the year, by any act of Congress, now in force or hereafter

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 1   passed, the time so fixed by such act of Congress shall be the
 2   standard time of this Commonwealth for such portion of the year:
 3   And provided, That no county, city, borough, town, township, or
 4   other municipal subdivision of the Commonwealth shall, by
 5   ordinance, resolution, or rule, adopt a different standard of
 6   time for any year, or any portion of the year, than that herein
 7   provided; and all ordinances, resolutions and rules heretofore
 8   adopted, contrary to this proviso, are declared to be void and
 9   of no effect.
10      [(b)     Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the
11   standard of time in this State, between 2 o'clock antemeridian
12   on the last Sunday in April and 2 o'clock antemeridian on the
13   last Sunday in October of each year, shall be one hour in
14   advance of that prescribed above, commonly known as daylight
15   saving time.]
16      Section 3.    If more than one state contiguous to the
17   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania enacts a law directing a state
18   official to request the United States Secretary of
19   Transportation to place that state in the Atlantic time zone,
20   the Governor shall transmit a similar request on behalf of the
21   Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
22      Section 4.    If the United States Secretary of Transportation
23   approves the request of the Governor, the Governor shall
24   transmit a notice to the Legislative Reference Bureau for
25   publication in the next available issue of the Pennsylvania
26   Bulletin.
27      Section 5.    The amendment of section 1(b) of the act shall
28   apply to calendar years beginning on and after the effective
29   date of this section.
30      Section 6.    This act shall take effect as follows:

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1         (1)   The amendment of section 1(a) of the act shall take
2     effect on the first Sunday in November following publication
3     of the notice required under section 4 of this act.
4         (2)   The amendment of section 1(b) of the act shall take
5     effect on the Monday after the last Sunday in October
6     following the effective date of this section.
7         (3)   The remainder of this act shall take effect
8     immediately.




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