Will Congress finally make daylight saving time permanent and we can stop changing our clocks twice a year?
After almost one and a half years of languishing in committee, the Sunshine Protection Act was voted on by the House of Representatives July 14, allowing states to make daylight saving time permanent.
H.R. 139, known as the Sunshine Protection Act, was filed Jan. 3, 2025, by Rep. Vern Buchanan, Florida-District 16. Buchanan has brought the Sunshine Protection Act before each Congress since 2018.
The Sunshine Protection Act would make daylight saving time the new, permanent standard time in the United States. States can choose to opt out and stay on standard time.
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The bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce the same day it was filed in January 2025.
It remained there, as the number of co-sponsors slowly increased, until the House voted 308-117 July 14 to approve the bill.
A House resolution, 1423, introduced by Rep. Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, may have helped moved things along.
Resolution 1423 was a procedural step to how the Sunshine Protection Act would be considered. In this case, the resolution recommended one hour of debate and one motion to consider the bill. It passed by a close vote of 217-210 July 14.
Here’s what you should know.
Is daylight saving time now permanent?
Not yet.
The House of Representatives voted 308-117 to make daylight saving time the new, permanent standard time in the United States.
The Sunshine Protection Act allows states to opt out of permanent daylight saving time in favor of permanent standard time if opt out legislation is passed through their respective state legislatures, Buchanan said. States can do so right up until the bill’s enactment.
The legislation now must be passed by the Senate and signed into law by President Trump.
There are two related bills filed in Congress to make daylight saving time permanent: H.R. 139, which was passed by the House July 14, and S. 29, filed by Sen. Rick Scott of Florida Jan. 7, 2025.
➤ Read the bills in their entirety: S. 29 and H.R. 139
Foxx said earlier this week Trump “has made clear his support for this legislation, and he remains adamant that Congress pass it and send it directly to his desk.”
Rep. Vern Buchanan: Changing clocks ‘outdated practice’
“Today, the House took an important step toward ending the outdated practice of changing our clocks twice a year by passing my bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act,” Buchanan said.
“This commonsense legislation reflects what Americans have been saying for years: it’s time to lock the clock and make daylight saving time permanent.
“Permanent daylight saving time will improve public safety, promote healthier and more active lifestyles and give families more daylight to enjoy after work and school. I’m grateful to my colleagues on both sides of the aisle for supporting this bipartisan effort, and I urge the Senate to send this long-overdue reform to the president’s desk.”
House rejects proposal to make standard time permanent
House lawmakers rejected a request July 13 to vote on an alternative proposal that would have made standard time, rather than daylight saving time, permanent.
Feelings are mixed around the U.S. on whether standard time or daylight saving time should be permanent.
What’s the difference between staying on standard time or daylight saving time all year?
Daylight saving time would mean later sunrises and sunsets, which means more time for outdoor activities after work or in the evenings.
Standard time would mean earlier sunrises and sunsets, which some argue increase safety in the mornings for school children and is more in line with our biological circadian rhythms, according to savestandardtime.
“The medical and scientific communities are unified … that permanent standard time is better for human health,” said Erik Herzog, a professor of biology and neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis and the former president of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms.
When is daylight saving time in 2026?
Daylight saving time this year started at 2 a.m. March 8.
Unless the Sunshine Protection Act is signed into law, daylight saving time will end at 2 a.m. Nov. 1.
Daylight saving time in most — but not all — of the United States starts on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.
It became a national standard in 1966 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Uniform Time Act, which was established as a way to conserve energy.
Congress repeatedly asked to stay on daylight saving time
Congress has been asked repeatedly since 2018 to stop the twice-annual practice of changing between daylight saving and standard time.
Florida has regularly filed legislation to stay on daylight saving time all year. Some states, though, prefer to stay on standard time all year.
In 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent. The U.S. House of Representatives did not pass it and then-President Joe Biden did not sign it.
Didn’t Florida vote to stay on daylight saving time years ago?
In 2018, Florida became the first state to enact legislation to stay on daylight saving time all year round.
The Florida Legislature approved HB 1013, the Sunshine Protection Act, with a vote of 103 to 11 in the House and 33 to 2 in the Florida Senate. Sen. Rick Scott, who was the Florida governor at the time, signed it.
And there it stopped, because making daylight saving time requires the repeal of the federal mandate. So without congressional approval, nothing could change.
When he was a senator, Secretary of State Marco Rubio introduced or co-introduced some version of the Sunshine Protection Act in every Congress since 2018.
The closest it came to being passed was in 2022 when it passed unanimously in the Senate but did not pass the House as former Speaker Nancy Pelosi never brought it up for a vote. In all the other years, it died in committee.
Poll: Should Congress make daylight saving time permanent?
Some states don’t observe daylight saving time
Hawaii and most of Arizona — except the Navajo Reservation — do not observe daylight saving time. They remain on standard time all year.
➤ Do all Americans observe daylight saving time? Why some states and territories don’t
Five other U.S. territories do not observe daylight saving time:
Is it daylight saving time or Daylight Savings Time?
It’s daylight saving time, no s and no capital letters.
Cheryl McCloud is a journalist for the USA TODAY Network-Florida’s service journalism Connect team. You can get all of Florida’s best content directly in your inbox each weekday day by signing up for the free newsletter, Florida TODAY, at https://tallahassee.com/newsletters.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: House votes to make daylight saving time permanent. See Florida’s role
Reporting by Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cheryl McCloud, USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida | USA TODAY Network
