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Atlantic Time Zone
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<h2 id="areas-covered">Areas covered</h2> <h3>Caribbean</h3> <ul><li>Antigua and Barbuda</li> <li>Barbados</li> <li>Dominica</li> <li>Dominican Republic</li> <li>France and <a href="/facts/Overseas_collectivity/2sYLElGE">French overseas collectivities</a>, in the following areas: <ul><li><a href="/facts/Guadeloupe/vwgVTYPm">Guadeloupe</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Martinique/HTwzANWx">Martinique</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Saint_Barth%C3%A9lemy/8sWqsl5c">Saint Barthélemy</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Collectivity_of_Saint_Martin/o44Cjp0h">Saint-Martin</a></li></ul></li> <li>Grenada</li> <li>Netherlands and <a href="/facts/Caribbean_Netherlands/hCVdbmtP">Dutch special municipalities</a>, in the following areas: <ul><li><a href="/facts/Aruba/zvI1fUg1">Aruba</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Bonaire/FLs4lUqU">Bonaire</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Cura%C3%A7ao/upV1jGtJ">Curaçao</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Saba_(island)/sPfYbeGC">Saba</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Sint_Eustatius/YCSuk9Tj">Sint Eustatius</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Sint_Maarten/MUFmDfD5">Sint Maarten</a></li></ul></li> <li>Saint Kitts and Nevis</li> <li>Saint Lucia</li> <li>Saint Vincent and the Grenadines</li> <li>Trinidad and Tobago</li> <li>United Kingdom (<a href="/facts/British_Overseas_Territories/fUjVAy3E">British Overseas Territories</a>), in the following areas: <ul><li><a href="/facts/Anguilla/FUQnwcFa">Anguilla</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/British_Virgin_Islands/Wl66NGLT">British Virgin Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Montserrat/J9PjQ974">Montserrat</a></li></ul></li> <li>United States <a href="/facts/Territories_of_the_United_States/NYfp1J30">territories</a>, in the following areas: <ul><li><a href="/facts/Puerto_Rico/jVStMyG4">Puerto Rico</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/United_States_Virgin_Islands/VwDBzBGT">United States Virgin Islands</a></li></ul></li></ul> <h3>North America</h3> <ul><li>Canada, in the following areas: <ul><li><a href="/facts/Nova_Scotia/RcmIvd1A">Nova Scotia</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/New_Brunswick/SLTqCmM2">New Brunswick</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Prince_Edward_Island/lgY4nUa2">Prince Edward Island</a></li> <li>Most of <a href="/facts/Labrador/Yo4K7DJ2">Labrador</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Magdalen_Islands/RmntG0NQ">Magdalen Islands</a>, Quebec</li> <li><a href="/facts/C%C3%B4te-Nord/oKYCEo7G">Côte-Nord</a> (east of the <a href="/facts/63rd_meridian_west/CEb5HoDa">63rd meridian</a>), Quebec (no DST)</li></ul></li></ul> <h3>Additional local areas</h3> <ul><li>Bermuda</li> <li><a href="/facts/Greenland/aagXRTB7">Greenland</a>, in the following area: <ul><li><a href="/facts/Pituffik_Space_Base/6s8r6EEh">Pituffik Space Base</a></li></ul></li></ul> <h2 id="us-states-considering-a-change-to-atlantic-standard-time">U.S. states considering a change to Atlantic Standard Time</h2> <p>All six of the <a href="/facts/New_England/ufw2BmSl">New England</a> states in the northeastern U.S., currently in the Eastern Time Zone (with daylight saving time), have considered legislation to shift to UTC−04:00, equivalent to Atlantic Standard Time (with no observance of daylight saving time) or Eastern Daylight Time. Virtually all of this region is west of the theoretical western border of the zone at 67.5°W; only a small part of <a href="/facts/Maine/7ww4UY8B">Maine</a> lies east of that meridian. A <a href="/facts/Massachusetts/9uumCbFI">Massachusetts</a> commission concluded in 2017 that the benefits of changing to Atlantic Standard Time year-round would outweigh the disadvantages, provided that a majority of northeastern states make the same change.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a> In May 2017, the <a href="/facts/Maine_Senate/gKRBcdRp">Maine Senate</a> approved a change to AST, on the condition that there would be a referendum, and that Massachusetts and <a href="/facts/New_Hampshire/DljxSg3H">New Hampshire</a> decided to make the same switch.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a> Also in 2017, the <a href="/facts/New_Hampshire_House_of_Representatives/07yfkok9">New Hampshire House of Representatives</a> approved a bill in favor of a regional change, but this was voted down by the <a href="/facts/New_Hampshire_Senate/BjaNgPjk">state's Senate</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> Similar bills have been put forward in <a href="/facts/Connecticut/LeDhYdJG">Connecticut</a>, <a href="/facts/Rhode_Island/WgrYmlzj">Rhode Island</a>, and <a href="/facts/Vermont/dcj3usCm">Vermont</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a> </p><p>In 2018, <a href="/facts/Florida/cF245A3Q">Florida</a> enacted into law the "Sunshine Protection Act", under which the state would observe daylight saving time year-round. Most of the state would permanently keep Eastern Daylight Time, which is equivalent to Atlantic Standard Time; the state's <a href="/facts/Florida_panhandle/LR0Uj4Ml">panhandle</a> region would move to year-round <a href="/facts/Central_Time_Zone/5UBgAgqS">Central Daylight Time</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a> However, the change cannot take effect until it is passed into federal law by the <a href="/facts/United_States_Congress/mJlU46K7">United States Congress</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a> </p><p>On March 15, 2022, the <a href="/facts/United_States_Senate/VyzXHE01">United States Senate</a> voted unanimously to advance a federal version of the "Sunshine Protection" legislation from Florida, also called the "Sunshine Protection Act", to the <a href="/facts/United_States_House_of_Representatives/cdBPb9pY">United States House of Representatives</a>;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a> the bill was not brought to a vote in the House.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a> A similar bill was introduced in the Senate in 2023.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Daylight_saving_time_in_the_Americas/yD4f7426">Daylight saving time in the Americas</a></li></ul> <h2 id="external-links">External links</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atlantic Time Zone (Americas). <ul><li><a href="https://time.is/AST">Atlantic Standard Time: <i>current time (live clock)</i></a></li> <li><a href="https://time.is/ADT">Atlantic Daylight Time: <i>current time (live clock)</i></a></li> <li><a href="https://nrc.canada.ca/en/web-clock/">Web clock (Official times across Canada)</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.worldtimezone.com/time-canada12.html">Canada time zone map</a></li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"CHAPTER T-6 – Time Definition Act" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-12-07. Retrieved 2012-09-11. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081207171756/http://www.gnb.ca/0062/PDF-acts/t-06.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20081207171756/http://www.gnb.ca/0062/PDF-acts/t-06.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"Time Definition Act". Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-02. <a href="http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/legc/statutes/timedefn.htm" target="_blank">http://www.gov.ns.ca/legislature/legc/statutes/timedefn.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"RSNL1990 CHAPTER S-23 – STANDARD TIME ACT". Retrieved 2007-11-16. <a href="http://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/s23.htm" target="_blank">http://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/s23.htm</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>"Advisories". National Hurricane Center. <a href="https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/" target="_blank">https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>"Commission: Massachusetts Should Change Time Zones, But Not On Its Own". November 1, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2018. <a href="http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/11/01/massachusetts-time-zone-change-daylight-saving/" target="_blank">http://boston.cbslocal.com/2017/11/01/massachusetts-time-zone-change-daylight-saving/</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>"Maine Considers Atlantic Standard Time". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018. <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/maine-ast.html" target="_blank">https://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/maine-ast.html</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Senate votes down push to switch N.H.'s time zone". May 11, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2018. <a href="http://www.concordmonitor.com/time-zone-change-atlantic-9808198" target="_blank">http://www.concordmonitor.com/time-zone-change-atlantic-9808198</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"Maine Considers Atlantic Standard Time". www.timeanddate.com. Retrieved March 15, 2018. <a href="https://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/maine-ast.html" target="_blank">https://www.timeanddate.com/news/time/maine-ast.html</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Haigh, Susan (2019-01-15). "Connecticut bill is latest calling for time zone change". Providence Journal. Retrieved 2019-09-10. In Vermont, Democrat Rep. Samuel Young this year has submitted legislation that would establish year-round Eastern daylight saving time. <a href="https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190115/connecticut-bill-is-latest-calling-for-time-zone-change" target="_blank">https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20190115/connecticut-bill-is-latest-calling-for-time-zone-change</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>"Should Florida keep Daylight Saving Time all year? It could happen". miamiherald. Retrieved 2019-03-12. <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article196453714.html" target="_blank">https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article196453714.html</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Lemongello, Steven. "Florida's year-round daylight saving time law on hold in Congress". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2019-03-12. <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-daylight-saving-law-20180703-story.html" target="_blank">https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-daylight-saving-law-20180703-story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Lemongello, Steven. "Florida's year-round daylight saving time law on hold in Congress". OrlandoSentinel.com. Retrieved 2019-03-12. <a href="https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-daylight-saving-law-20180703-story.html" target="_blank">https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/political-pulse/os-daylight-saving-law-20180703-story.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Palya, Ashley (2022-03-15). "Turning Back Clocks A Thing Of The Past? Senate Passes Sunshine Protection Act". International Business Times. Retrieved 2022-03-17. <a href="https://www.ibtimes.com/turning-back-clocks-thing-past-senate-passes-sunshine-protection-act-3438504" target="_blank">https://www.ibtimes.com/turning-back-clocks-thing-past-senate-passes-sunshine-protection-act-3438504</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Schnell, Mychael (July 25, 2022). "Permanent daylight saving time hits brick wall in House". The Hill. <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3571007-permanent-daylight-saving-time-hits-brick-wall-in-house/" target="_blank">https://thehill.com/homenews/house/3571007-permanent-daylight-saving-time-hits-brick-wall-in-house/</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Bink, Addy (March 2, 2023). "Daylight saving time: New bill could stop the clocks from changing". The Hill. <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/3880009-bill-to-make-daylight-saving-time-permanent-reintroduced-in-congress/" target="_blank">https://thehill.com/homenews/nexstar_media_wire/3880009-bill-to-make-daylight-saving-time-permanent-reintroduced-in-congress/</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>