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House · Engrossed · 2025-2026 Regular Session

HB 154: Emergency medical services; designate ambulance services as an essential service

Last action March 23, 2026 · Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute

A Senate committee substitute for HB 154 would require Georgia's Governor to ask the federal government to move Georgia into the Atlantic time zone so the state can observe standard time year round instead of switching clocks twice a year.

Read the full bill text

These buttons carry the bill's own text, not the summaries below. Copy for LLM, View as markdown, and Send to AI use the Markdown version: the text as filed, then the summaries under a heading that names them as ours. View raw is the text alone.

The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Comm Sub version, the latest the General Assembly's website lists.

In plain language

Although this bill is titled as dealing with ambulance services, the actual substitute text replaces that subject entirely with a proposal about Georgia's time zone. It repeals the current Georgia law on daylight saving time (O.C.G.A. § 50-1-10) and enacts a new version called the 'Georgia Sunshine Protection Act.' The new law would require the Governor, by December 31, 2026, to formally ask the United States Secretary of Transportation to place Georgia in the Atlantic standard time zone. If the federal government approves that request, Georgia would observe Atlantic standard time year round and would stop changing clocks for daylight saving time. If Congress later passes a law allowing states to keep daylight saving time year round, Georgia would then switch to observing daylight saving time permanently in the eastern time zone, and the Governor would have to ask the federal government to move Georgia back to the eastern time zone first if it had already shifted to Atlantic time.

What the bill does

  • Repeals the current Georgia Code section on daylight saving time (O.C.G.A. § 50-1-10) and replaces it with a new version.
  • Requires the Governor to formally request that the U.S. Secretary of Transportation place Georgia in the Atlantic standard time zone by December 31, 2026.
  • Provides that if the federal government approves the request, Georgia would observe Atlantic standard time year round and stop the twice-yearly clock changes.
  • Sets up a fallback plan requiring Georgia to switch to permanent daylight saving time in the eastern time zone if Congress later authorizes states to do so.
  • Names the law the 'Georgia Sunshine Protection Act' and states legislative findings about the effects of switching clocks twice a year.

Who it affects

All Georgia residents and businesses would be affected by a change to the state's official time zone and the end of twice-yearly clock changes. The Governor's office and the U.S. Department of Transportation are directly involved, since the change depends on federal approval of the Governor's request.

Why it matters

If approved by federal authorities, Georgians would stop resetting clocks twice a year and would gain more evening daylight during winter months, since Atlantic standard time is one hour ahead of eastern time. The change depends entirely on federal approval and could shift how Georgia's clock aligns with neighboring states.

Key provisions

  • Section 1 names the law the 'Georgia Sunshine Protection Act.'
  • Section 2 repeals the existing Code Section 50-1-10 and enacts a new version with legislative findings about the effects of daylight saving time changes.
  • New subsection (c) requires the Governor to request that the U.S. Secretary of Transportation place Georgia in the Atlantic standard time zone by December 31, 2026.
  • New subsection (c) states Georgia would observe Atlantic standard time year round only if the federal request is approved.
  • New subsection (d) creates a fallback: if Congress authorizes year-round daylight saving time, Georgia would switch to observing it in the eastern time zone, requiring another Governor's request if Georgia had already moved to Atlantic time.
  • Section 3 repeals all conflicting laws.

From the bill

“Not later than December 31, 2026, the Governor shall request that the United States Secretary of Transportation place this state in the Atlantic standard time zone.”

This sets the deadline and the specific action the Governor must take under the bill.

“this state shall observe Atlantic standard time year round as the standard time of the entire state and shall be exempt from the advancement of clocks by one hour during designated periods”

This describes the practical effect of the time zone change if approved by federal officials.

Discussed in meetings (5)

The House and Senate meetings that took this bill up, from their machine transcripts. Each account was written by Georgia Commons with AI and is not part of the record; the video is what was said.

  1. Senate Health and Human Services Committee, March 18, 2026

    From 0:05:19 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter offered a substitute for HB 154 addressing clock changes rather than ambulance services. The presenter said it would require the governor to petition the federal Department of Transportation by year’s end to move Georgia into the Atlantic Time Zone and observe standard time year-round, matching Eastern Daylight Time without congressional approval. The chair linked ending clock changes to reduced heart attack, stroke and sleep risks. Supportive members cited children’s routines, including those of children with autism. The presenter said later evening daylight would benefit outdoor family activities. Members questioned darker school-bus mornings and differences from neighboring states. The presenter acknowledged winter differences of one hour from Eastern Standard Time states and two hours from Alabama, but said improved lighting and transportation made darker mornings manageable. One member opposed moving without the entire Eastern Seaboard because of business and travel scheduling; a second raised similar banking concerns. The chair acknowledged schools might need adjustments and said businesses already manage multiple time zones. The committee approved the substitute 11 to 2.

  2. Senate Rules Committee, March 20, 2026

    From 0:33:43 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The presenter said the bill now would seek year-round Atlantic Standard Time rather than address its original subject. In response to a member’s question about federal authority, the presenter said Congress permits year-round standard time but not year-round daylight saving time. The presenter said the bill would have Georgia petition the U.S. Department of Transportation to move from the Eastern to the Atlantic time zone, keeping the time observed during Eastern daylight time throughout the year. A member asked whether this matched Puerto Rico’s time, and the presenter said it would. Another member asked about moving toward Alabama’s time zone, and the presenter explained that the proposal instead moves one hour east. The chair later selected the bill for the floor calendar, which the committee approved unanimously.

  3. House Rules Committee, March 23, 2026

    From 0:36:13 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel

    Summary by Georgia Commons: While presenting a substitute for SB 395, the presenter explained that it incorporated HB 154 as Section 2. The presenter said the language would designate emergency medical services as an essential service so providers could apply for available grants, without addressing insurance payments or network status. The presenter said the House had passed the policy twice, nearly unanimously, and that rural providers could benefit. The committee subsequently approved the substitute containing this language, rather than taking a separate vote on HB 154.

  4. Senate floor session, March 23, 2026 (legislative day 36)

    From 2:33:18 · Watch on the General Assembly's Vimeo channel · Confirmed by the bill's status history (Senate Third Read)

    Summary by Georgia Commons: The clerk read HB 154, originally concerning ambulance services, followed by a substitute replacing that subject with a request for federal approval to place Georgia in Atlantic Standard Time year-round until Congress allows permanent daylight saving time. A senator questioned whether the replacement fit the original bill. The chair ruled that it did because the original text had been completely replaced. The presenter argued that twice-yearly clock changes disrupt sleep, work and family routines, and said schools could adjust start times if needed. One opposing senator supported ending clock changes but warned that Georgia acting alone would complicate business, travel and schedules with neighboring states, including a two-hour difference with Alabama during part of the year. Another senator supported the proposal, citing disruption to young children and children with ADHD or autism. In closing, the presenter said Georgia and more than 20 other states had already passed laws awaiting congressional action, and argued Georgia should use the existing federal process. The Senate adopted the substitute and passed it 45-5.

Status timeline

  1. 2026-03-23Senate Passed/Adopted By Substitute (Senate)
  2. 2026-03-23Senate Third Read (Senate)
  3. 2026-03-19Senate Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (Senate)
  4. 2026-01-12Senate Recommitted (Senate)
  5. 2026-01-12Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
  6. 2025-04-02Senate Tabled (Senate)
  7. 2025-03-25Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
  8. 2025-03-21Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
Show full history (15 actions)
  1. 2025-03-06Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
  2. 2025-03-04House Passed/Adopted By Substitute (House)
  3. 2025-03-04House Third Readers (House)
  4. 2025-02-20House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
  5. 2025-01-30House Second Readers (House)
  6. 2025-01-29House First Readers (House)
  7. 2025-01-28House Hopper (House)

Sponsors

  • Gary Richardson (R, HD-125)Primary sponsor
  • Ruwa Romman (D, HD-97)
  • Rob Clifton (R, HD-131)
  • Danny Mathis (R, HD-133)
  • Victor Anderson (R, HD-10)
  • Stan Gunter (R, HD-8)
  • Bo Hatchett (R, SD-50)

Votes

  1. PassedHouse voteMarch 4, 2025

    172 yea, 0 nay (6 not voting, 2 excused)

    PASSAGE: House Vote #149

  2. PassedSenate voteMarch 23, 2026

    45 yea, 5 nay (3 not voting, 1 excused)

    PASSAGE BY SUBSTITUTE: Senate Vote #788

Topics

  • daylight saving time
  • time zone change
  • Georgia state government
  • Georgia Sunshine Protection Act

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Machine-readable https://georgiacommons.org/bills/2025-2026/hb154.md · https://georgiacommons.org/bills/index.md · MCP https://mcp.georgiacommons.org/mcp