Texans are wondering if Daylight Saving Time could be permanent.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill on July 14 that would allow states to enact daylight saving time year-round, a shift from the existing practice of changing clocks twice a year.
Currently, most of Texas follows Daylight Saving Time (roughly March through November) and uses Central Daylight Time. El Paso and nearby areas in far West Texas are in the Mountain Time Zone, so they switch between Mountain Standard Time in winter and Mountain Daylight Time in summer.
In El Paso, Daylight saving time will end at 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026.
Here is what to know about Daylight Saving Time and current legislation.
Daylight Saving Time permanent?
If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the legislation – which cleared the House 308-117 – would largely stop the practice of moving clocks an hour forward in the spring and an hour back in the fall.
Introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Florida, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 passed the House after years of failed efforts in Congress to reform daylight saving time.
What is daylight saving time?
Daylight saving time is the practice of setting clocks forward an hour from March until November in an effort to gain more sunlight during the summer months.
According to the Library of Congress, it was first enacted in 1918 as a fuel cost-saving measure during World War I.
Daylight saving time became federal law under the Uniform Time Act of 1966.
Under the law, some states can opt to exempt itself from daylight saving time. Daylight saving time is not observed in Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and most of Arizona, according to the Department of Transportation.
Daylight Saving Time and its effect on Mexico
Most of Mexico no longer observes daylight saving time. Since October 2022, most of Mexico stays on standard time year-round. The country eliminated nationwide daylight saving time after lawmakers concluded the benefits did not outweigh the costs.
Border cities like Juárez are the exception. To keep business, commuting, and trade synchronized with the United States, many municipalities along the U.S.–Mexico border still observe daylight saving time and follow the same schedule as neighboring U.S. states.
El Paso and Juárez continue to observe daylight saving time. It is unknown how a permanent Daylight Saving Time on the U.S. side would impact border cities and their clocks.
Daylight saving time bill heads to the Senate
After being passed in the House, the permanent daylight saving time bill still has a ways to go before becoming law.
Next, it will head to the Senate, where its fate remains unclear. If it clears Congress’ upper chamber, it will go to President Donald Trump’s desk for him to sign into law.
Trump has in the past expressed support for permanent daylight saving time, so it appears likely that, if passed by the Senate, he would sign it into law.
Most recently, he called daylight saving time a “ridiculous, twice yearly production” in a May Truth Social post.
“I am going to work very hard to see The Sunshine Protection Act signed into Law. It’s time that people can stop worrying about the ‘Clock,'” he wrote.
Source: USA Today
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Will Daylight Saving Time become permanent soon? What to know
Reporting by Maria Cortes Gonzalez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Maria Cortes Gonzalez, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
