Committee backs substitute to pursue permanent daylight saving time pending congressional approval

Chair (speaker 2) opened consideration of Senate Bill 100 and invited Chairman Cantrell (speaker 3) to explain the proposal. Chairman Cantrell said he was presenting on behalf of Senator Watson and asked the committee to adopt a committee substitute that mirrors House Bill 44; he said the substitution is intended to position the legislature to enact permanent daylight saving time should Congress act to permit states to do so.

"The respondents preferred daylight saving time, by a margin of 5 to 1," Chairman Cantrell said, citing a national Politico survey to describe public preference for daylight saving time. He told members the bill text being used in committee is LC460478S and explained the reciprocal bill-substitution activity occurring between the House and Senate as a legislative strategy to keep both vehicles alive.

Scott McGregor, representing the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce and Textron Specialty Vehicles (brands noted: E-Z-Go, Jacobson, Arctic Cat), testified that the Senate language in SB 100 was "extremely problematic" for his community and urged adoption of the House language instead. "There's a lot of rockets going on about it right now," he said, describing constituent and industry concern and noting similar language has been used in South Carolina.

The chair called for a motion. The transcript records a motion identified as Representative Duke's (with a second by Representative Camp) to pass SB 100 as a committee substitute. The committee conducted a voice vote; the chair declared the motion carried and closed the SB 100 item. The meeting record does not include a roll-call tally; the outcome recorded in the transcript is a voice approval and the item was advanced as a committee substitute pending further action.