Will Daylight Saving Time Become Permanent in the US?

What Is the Sunshine Protection Act?

A bill to lock the clocks.

Senator Marco Rubio introduced it in 2018 and has reintroduced it every session since. The act would put the entire United States on daylight saving time permanently. Clocks would spring forward one last time and never fall back. The country would stay on DST all twelve months, trading earlier winter sunsets for later winter sunrises.

The bill’s most dramatic moment arrived in March 2022.

The 2022 Senate Vote and House Stalemate

On 15 March 2022, the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act by unanimous consent. No senator objected. No roll-call vote was taken. It looked like a done deal.

Then the bill reached the House of Representatives and stopped cold. The House never brought it to a vote. Several representatives pointed to the failed 1973-74 year-round DST experiment and the risk to early-morning commuters and schoolchildren. The bill died when the 117th Congress ended in January 2023.

The same legislation was reintroduced in the 118th Congress in 2023 and again in the 119th Congress in 2025. As of October 2026, the House has not voted. The bill remains pending.

Which States Have Passed Trigger Laws for Permanent DST

At least 19 states have passed laws or resolutions to adopt permanent DST if lawmakers in Washington authorize it. These trigger laws do nothing on their own. They sit idle until federal law changes.

Florida, California, Oregon, Washington, Texas, and Tennessee are among the states with trigger laws. The exact roster shifts as new states join. None can act independently. The Uniform Time Act of 1966 gives the Department of Transportation and the legislative branch authority over DST. States get two choices: follow the federal DST schedule or opt out entirely and stay on standard time all year.

Arizona and Hawaii took the second option. They skip DST altogether. For a full list, see states that don't observe daylight saving.

The Case for Permanent DST

More evening light, year-round.

Supporters argue that extra hour of evening sun cuts crime, improves public health by encouraging outdoor activity, and boosts retail and tourism. The US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Convenience Stores, and the golf industry have all backed the shift. The 2022 Senate vote was fast and bipartisan because the idea polls well. A 2022 Monmouth University poll found 61% of Americans want to stop changing clocks. Opinion splits on which time to keep.

The Case Against: Dark Mornings and Schoolchildren

Morning light.

That is the strongest argument against permanent DST. On the December solstice in Washington, D.C., sunrise is at 07:22 under standard time. Children walk to school or wait for buses in darkness for three to four months.

The 1973-74 experiment proved this was a dealbreaker. Lawmakers ordered year-round DST in January 1974 during the energy crisis. By February, public backlash was so fierce that Congress reversed course and returned to standard time that October. Darkness was blamed for a rise in morning traffic accidents involving children.

Schools start early. Elementary schools often begin at 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. Middle and high schools start as early as 7:30 a.m. Permanent DST would push sunrise past those start times for weeks. The school hours and DST safety debate remains the central obstacle.

What Permanent DST Would Mean for Each Time Zone

Latitude dictates the pain.

In the Eastern zone, the sun would set after 17:00 in winter instead of before 16:30. That is popular. But sunrise in northern cities arrives late.

The Central zone sees a similar pattern. The effect is milder than in the north but still means dark commutes for months.

The Mountain zone would feel it more sharply. Denver mornings would stay dark well past 08:00.

The Pacific zone gets hit hardest. For much of December and January, sunrise in Seattle and Portland would come late enough to recreate the exact problem that killed the 1974 experiment.

Alaska and Hawaii face their own complications. Hawaii already skips DST and has little daylight variation across the year. Alaska, with its extreme latitude, would see sunrises so late in some areas that morning activity would happen entirely in darkness.

Could States Choose Permanent Standard Time Instead?

Yes. States can already stay on standard time all year, just as Arizona and Hawaii do. No federal approval is needed.

California, Colorado, and Maine have studied or proposed moving to permanent standard time. The idea has less public support than permanent DST, but it avoids dark winter mornings entirely. Under permanent standard time, sunrise arrives earlier in winter. Sunset comes earlier too.

No state has actually made the switch to permanent standard time in recent years. The political pathway is clearer than for permanent DST. The public appetite is smaller.