ATLANTA — A bill that would switch Georgia to a different time zone to make daylight saving time permanent didn’t make it out of the Gold Dome.
The Georgia House did not call for a vote on the Georgia Sunshine Protection Act before the legislative session ended with Sine Die late Thursday into Friday morning.
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Five years ago, state lawmakers voted to make daylight saving time permanent and not change the clocks twice a year in March and November.
Gov. Brian Kemp signed it, but it still required Congress to approve it.
This year, Cornelia Republican state Sen. Bo Hatchett led the State Senate this year to pass the Georgia Sunshine Protection Act in March.
The bill would have asked the U.S. Department of Transportation to move Georgia from Eastern Standard Time to Atlantic Standard Time. It would keep the state on daylight saving time year-round.
The Atlantic time zone shares a border with Eastern time zone. It includes four provinces from Canada, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands.
The Georgia Senate passed the bill, 45-5, and sent it back to the Georgia House. But it was one of several bills that House decided not to vote on during the last day of the session.
As with any bill that fails to pass, it is possible that lawmakers could bring it back next session.
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