NASHVILLE -- The state Senate on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would put Tennessee permanently on Daylight Saving Time if the federal government ever agrees to allow it.
House Bill 247 passed on a 29-1 vote. It now goes to Gov. Bill Lee for his consideration.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it's about time," bill sponsor Sen. Steve Dickerson, R-Nashville, quipped to colleagues before the vote was taken.
He previously told the Senate the legislation "is wildly popular among our constituents."
While the original bill would have sought to eliminate use of Standard Time during the late fall, winter and early spring, it drew concerns because Tennessee is surrounded by eight states, several of which oppose moving to a standard year-round time, Dickerson said.
"The federal government has to approve this bill anyway, so this bill would only be effective if the federal government approved it," Dickerson said.
A physician, Dickerson said there are good reasons to stick to Daylight Saving Time on a year-round basis. That includes a "statistically significant increase in wrecks, heart attacks, strokes ... workplace accidents" when clocks are adjusted to "spring forward" in the spring and "fall back" in the fall," he said.
About 18 states have approved similar legislation, Dickerson said.
Sen. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains, a farmer, cited another reason.
Hens and egg production.
"They just quit laying when you change the time," Niceley observed. "Every time."
Contact Andy Sher at asher@timesfreepress.com or 615-255-0550. Follow on Twitter @AndySher1.