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Is it time to stop the biannual ritual of changing our clocks? Let’s explore how different states are approaching the idea of making daylight saving time a permanent fixture.
WASHINGTON — In just a few days, millions across America will enjoy an extra hour of rest as daylight saving time comes to a close.
This Sunday, November 2, at 2 a.m., clocks nationwide will be set back by one hour.
While most states adhere to this twice-yearly adjustment, Arizona and Hawaii stand apart by opting out of daylight saving time altogether. These states leverage a provision in the 59-year-old federal law that allows them to bypass the usual clock changes observed by the rest of the nation.
Indeed, it’s Congress that holds the power to grant us that additional hour of sleep.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 mandates that the country use daylight saving time, but it allows states to opt out and exempt themselves from the practice of staying on standard time year-round. It does not allow states to permanently establish daylight saving time, which would keep them an hour ahead from November to March while other states switch to standard time.
Many states have passed measures to stay on daylight saving time permanently — a move that some have called “lock the clock.” For some states, they’re willing to go forward with it as long as a few of their neighbors do the same.
Over the last seven years, 18 states have passed legislation or resolutions in support of year-round daylight saving time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. In 2025, at least 31 states considered or are still considering legislation related to daylight saving time.
There has even been a suggestion that some states leave the Eastern Time Zone entirely and adopt a new one used by parts of Canada and a couple of U.S. territories. Other efforts aim to keep states in standard time year-round, avoiding the pesky time change twice a year.
However, none of those bills or laws aiming to make daylight saving time permanent can take effect until there is a federal repeal of the congressional act. In essence, Congress needs to change the law for the U.S. to keep daylight saving time year-round.
There have been efforts on the congressional level to make this change.
For the past few years, then-Senator Marco Rubio, now the head of the State Department, had introduced a version of what he calls the “Sunshine Protection Act,” which would permanently establish daylight saving time nationwide. The bills, however, always died before they ever came close to becoming law.
In 2022, the U.S. Senate passed a version of the bill, but the House of Representatives never voted on it.
In early January, Florida Sen. Rick Scott reintroduced the measure into Congress. Similar measures were introduced, but all are awaiting action from committees.
President Trump has made several digs at the semiannual changing of clocks, but backed off his call for the Republican Party to eliminate daylight saving time, calling it a “50-50 issue.”
Here is where each state stands in the effort to adopt daylight saving time all year long, although Congress would need to act before states that have enacted laws can implement the change.
Alabama
In May 2021, Alabama passed an act that would have the state permanently observe daylight saving time. That bill is still waiting for a federal repeal of the Uniform Time Act of 1966 to take effect.
Alaska
For the last couple of years, Alaska has introduced a bill to recognize daylight saving time year-round, provided that Congress makes the move by 2031. The bill never really makes it out of committee.
In 2025, Rep. Jamie Allard introduced House Bill 41, but it died awaiting action from the House State Affairs Committee.
Allard’s bill would have exempted the state from daylight saving time until Congress allowed it to be observed year-round. If it were to pass, Alaska would stay on standard time throughout the year without changing its clock biannually.
A senate bill was also introduced into the 2025 session. Unlike the House bills, this measure would exempt the state from daylight saving time. The Senate bill died awaiting action from the chamber.
Even if it did pass, Alaska might not see the benefits that other states could from ending daylight saving time. According to Alaska Public Media, it could make winters darker in the northernmost state in the U.S.
“Nome would have a sunrise after 1 p.m.,” Brian Brettschneider, a climatologist in Anchorage, told APM.
Arizona
Arizona is one of the more well-known examples of states that do not follow daylight saving time. Instead, the state observes Mountain Standard Time year-round. But the Navajo Nation, which is partially in Arizona, does observe DST.
That means from March to November every year, the Navajo Nation is an hour ahead of the rest of the state of Arizona.
Arkansas
In Dec. 2022, State Rep. Johnny Rye introduced a bill to the Arkansas House, which would adopt year-round DST. However, on January 9, 2023, he withdrew the bill and recommended that a committee on governmental affairs study its effects.
Rye tried to pass a similar bill in 2020. The bill passed the House 71-24 and was referred to the Senate Committee on State Agencies and Government Affairs, but it failed to pass during the legislative session.
In March 2025, State Rep. Stephen Meeks introduced a bill to the Arkansas House to adopt standard time year-round, eliminating daylight saving time. The effort failed while awaiting committee action.
California
In 2018, voters approved a proposition allowing the state legislature to pass legislation that would put California on permanent DST. Several legislators, most recently California Assemblymember Steven Choi, have attempted to pass such a bill. However, each time, the legislation has either been withdrawn or died in committee.
In early 2024, California Assemblyman Tri Ta and Senator Roger Niello introduced legislation to observe standard time year-round. Both measures failed.
Two new measures were filed in 2025, aiming to eliminate daylight saving time in the state. Both bills were awaiting action from committees.
Colorado
Colorado is another state waiting on the federal government to enact permanent DST. In 2022, after years of failed attempts, the Colorado General Assembly passed a bipartisan bill that would make daylight saving time permanent, provided that the Uniform Time Act of 1966 is repealed or if four other Mountain Standard Time Zone states also enact legislation making daylight saving time permanent.
Connecticut
Two bills in 2021 were introduced into the state legislature, both of which would have had Connecticut adopt Atlantic Standard Time (AST), dropping DST similarly to Arizona or Hawaii. However, neither bill was brought to a vote, leaving any time-related legislation in limbo.
Atlantic Standard Time, which is used in the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, is one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time.
Similar efforts were made in 2025, but the bill ultimately failed.
Delaware
In 2019, Delaware passed a bill for the state to remain on daylight saving time permanently, but it was contingent on Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland doing the same.
As with other bills of this nature, it would also depend on congressional action allowing states to adopt DST permanently.
Florida
Florida became the first state to pass a resolution to observe daylight saving time year-round, passing the legislation in 2018. If Congress repeals the Uniform Time Act of 1966, it would go into effect immediately.
Georgia
In 2021, Georgia’s legislature passed a permanent daylight saving time law that was signed by Gov. Brian Kemp.
Congress must repeal the Uniform Time Act of 1966 for Georgia’s bill to take effect.
Despite a measure passing to adopt permanent daylight saving time, State Rep. Dale Washburn introduced a bill in 2024 to move Georgia to standard time year-round.
The measure, House Bill 870, was not passed.
Hawaii
Hawaii, like Arizona, doesn’t observe daylight saving time. Federal law permits states to opt out of daylight saving, but does not allow them to observe it year-round.
In 2011, a bill was introduced to the Hawaii House that would have the state opt in, but it never passed.
Idaho
Idaho is a complicated case because it is divided among two time zones (Pacific Time for the northern half of the state and Mountain Time for the south). In 2020, the Idaho legislature passed a measure that would make DST permanent in the northern half of the state — but not the southern half — if the state of Washington also makes the permanent switch.
In 2025, a new measure was introduced in the Idaho legislature to eliminate daylight saving time in the state. House Bill 140 died while awaiting action from the House State Affairs Committee.
Illinois
One bill introduced into the Illinois House of Representatives seeks to make daylight saving time year-round. Senate Bill 1600 was filed in early January 2025 and has been assigned a committee.
Other measures aiming to make daylight saving time permanent include House Bill 39, House Bill 1400 and House Resolution 128. All those efforts are awaiting action from committees.
Indiana
Indiana is another state split between two time zones. While the majority of counties in Indiana are in the Eastern time zone, 18 counties in the northwest and southwest parts of the state are in the Central time zone.
A bill exempting Indiana from daylight saving time was introduced into the Indiana General Assembly for the 2024 session, but died in committee.
Three efforts were introduced into the Indiana House in 2025 and died awaiting action from a committee.
Iowa
The Iowa legislature introduced two bills in 2025 that would make daylight saving time permanent. House Bill 6 and Senate Bill 90 both died while awaiting committee action.
But even if HB6 and SB90 were to pass, those wouldn’t take effect until there’s federal approval.
Kansas
Kansas state Sen. Kenny Titus introduced a bill in January 2025 to exempt the state from daylight saving time but provide for moving to DST year-round if Congress makes the change. The measure died while awaiting action from the House Federal and State Affairs Committee.
The last time Kansas lawmakers put forward a daylight saving time bill was in 2019. That bill would have kept the state off of DST, but it died in 2020. If it had passed, that bill would have taken effect without congressional approval, because states can stop using DST, but aren’t able to adopt it permanently without congressional action.
Kansas lawmakers have also proposed moving to daylight saving time year-round, but the proposals have failed to receive a vote from the state legislature.
Kentucky
In 2023, a measure was introduced in the Kentucky House to make DST permanent if the Uniform Time Act of 1966 or the Standard Time Act of 1918 were amended by Congress to allow year-round daylight saving time. However, the bill failed to become law.
Earlier this year, a countermeasure was introduced that would have required the state to use standard time throughout the year. House Bill 308 would have taken effect Oct. 31, 2025, if enacted. The bill died awaiting action from the House State Government Committee.
Louisiana
House Bill 132, making daylight saving time permanent in Louisiana, was signed into law in 2020. Like other permanent DST laws across the nation, it cannot go into effect while Congress keeps the Uniform Time Act of 1966 in place.
Maine
In 2019, Maine enacted a law to stay on Eastern Daylight Time all year long, but only if Congress acts to allow it. In 2021, Maine commissioned a study on the topic.
In 2025, Maine introduced a bill that would establish Eastern Standard Time as the state’s standard time year-round. The bill failed to pass.
Maryland
House Bill 165 sought to make DST permanent year-round but ultimately died in the House in 2023. A similar bill was reintroduced in early 2025 but was withdrawn by a sponsor and died awaiting action.
Maryland has had similar efforts before, but they have never been able to become law. Maryland House Bill 1013, which would have done away with DST for the state, passed the House in 2021, but stalled in a Senate committee. A separate but similar Senate bill, SB 840, was also introduced in 2021 and ended up stalled in the same committee.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts introduced a pair of concurrent bills in the House and the Senate in 2023, which would repeal DST and put the state exclusively on Atlantic Standard Time.
The measures were reintroduced in July as House Bill 3405; it is currently pending in the state legislature. The revamped bill would authorize the oversight committee to launch a study on the proposed change.
Michigan
A 2023 bill, which was referred to a committee in the Michigan Senate, would have adopted daylight saving time year-round, provided Congress allowed the switch.
Michigan’s House of Representatives passed a bill in April 2021 to move to year-round daylight saving time as long as Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania also made the switch. The Michigan bill was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to a committee and subsequently died.
Minnesota
A pair of bills in the Minnesota House and Senate were introduced in 2023, according to the NCSL. The bills would have recognized federal standard time year-round beginning in 2024; however, the measures died in committee.
The Minnesota legislature approved a plan in 2021 to permanently observe daylight saving time, pending congressional approval.
Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers passed legislation in 2021 for year-round daylight saving time, pending congressional approval.
Missouri
In 2021, lawmakers in Missouri proposed a bill that would permanently put the state on daylight saving time if three of eight bordering states follow suit. The Missouri House approved the plan, but the state Senate failed to vote on the measure before the end of the session.
In 2023, there were two House bills under consideration that would make DST permanent. House Bill 157 and House Bill 265 both failed to become law.
A recent measure in 2025 was introduced into Missouri’s House of Representatives, aiming to move the state to standard time year-round unless Congress allows for daylight saving time to be permanent. It would have made daylight saving time year-round if Congress had allowed the change. The measure died awaiting action from the committee.
Montana
A bill in the Montana House attempted to create state standard time, declaring Montana exempt from daylight saving time. However, the bill failed to become law.
Montana passed and signed into law in May 2021 a measure to keep the state in daylight saving time year-round, pending approval from Congress or the U.S. Department of Transportation. Three of these states must also go on full-year daylight saving time first: Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah or Wyoming.
Nebraska
A bill was considered in the Nebraska legislature in 2023 that would have moved the state to daylight saving time year-round if three neighboring states also made the move. Wyoming and Colorado already have such legislation in place.
Two new measures were filed in 2025 related to daylight saving time.
Legislature Bill 34, filed by Sen. Megan Hunt, aimed to make daylight saving time year-round. Conversely, Legislature Bill 302 would exempt the state from the time change and make standard time year-round. Both died awaiting committee action.
Nevada
In 2021, a bill was introduced that would have directed the state to adopt either Pacific Daylight Time or Pacific Standard Time year-round — depending on what California does — to keep time zones standardized throughout the region. But the bill died before a vote.
In early February 2025, a new measure filed in the Nevada Senate and Assembly aims to exempt the state from daylight saving time and force standard time year-round. The measure failed to pass.
New Hampshire
In 2024, a New Hampshire lawmaker filed a bill that would permanently move the state to Atlantic Standard Time — if Maine, Vermont, and Massachusetts do the same. The effort died in the chamber.
A similar measure was introduced into New Hampshire’s legislature in 2023. House Bill 1679 would exempt the state from daylight saving time if Maine and Massachusetts also repeal DST. The effort died in the chamber.
New Jersey
New Jersey lawmakers have introduced two new measures that would make daylight saving time permanent in the state, pending approval from Congress. They both are awaiting action from committees.
An additional bill filed in the Senate aims to put the state on standard time year-round. It is still pending action.
New Mexico
A pair of New Mexico state senators put forward a bill in the 2023 legislative session that would exempt the state from daylight saving time like Arizona or Hawaii. But the bill ultimately failed in the Senate.
New York
New York lawmakers have recently introduced several measures into the Senate and State Assembly regarding daylight saving time. The efforts range from making DST permanent year-round to eliminating it. All bills are still pending.
North Carolina
The North Carolina House passed an effort in early 2023 to adopt DST year-round if authorized by Congress, but the measure died in committee.
A sister bill in the North Carolina Senate filed in February 2025 seeks to adopt daylight saving time year-round in the state. The effort is currently recessed, putting a temporary pause on the legislation.
North Dakota
The most recent attempt to pass a permanent DST bill in North Dakota was killed in 2021, when the legislature voted it down.
The bill would have taken effect if Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota had adopted similar measures.
According to Prairie Public Broadcasting, the bill’s main sponsor didn’t like the amendment requiring those other three states to be on board first, although Montana and Minnesota have passed bills to make the change.
In early 2025, the North Dakota House passed legislation that would exempt the state from daylight saving time, leaving it in standard time year-round. The legislation was sent to the senate but failed to pass in April.
Ohio
Ohio State Sen. Kyle Koehler filed a resolution on Feb. 10, 2025, urging Congress to make daylight saving time permanent year-round. It is still pending.
Ohio State Rep. Rodney Creech introduced a similar resolution in 2023. The bill was adopted by the House and sent over to the Senate but never made it out of committee.
Creech filed a similar bill in 2021, which passed the House but died in the Senate.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma has previously introduced an array of bills regarding daylight saving time, ranging from keeping it all year round to eliminating it altogether.
In April 2024, the Oklahoma governor signed a bill to “lock the clock” and permanently use daylight saving time year-round. The bill would still require Congress to approve the time change before it takes effect.
The new efforts to establish standard time year-round failed to pass as they died in committee in March 2025.
Oregon
In 2024, Oregon lawmakers introduced a bill into the Senate that would have kept the state on permanent standard time if Washington and California adopted the same. While the Oregon Senate narrowly approved Senate Bill 1548 on a 16-14 vote, the bill ultimately failed to become law.
Senate Bill 5666, filed in early 2025, sought to abolish a one-hour change in time from standard time to daylight saving time and keep the state in standard time for all 12 months of the year, except in a portion of Oregon that adheres to the Mountain Time Zone. The measure, which failed to pass, would have only gone into effect if California and Washington had done the same within 10 years.
Pennsylvania
In 2025, the Pennsylvania House introduced a new measure to make daylight saving time permanent, provided that Congress authorized the change.
Conversely, a bill aiming to ditch daylight saving time altogether and make standard time permanent was also introduced in January 2025.
The two measures are awaiting action from assigned committees.
Early this year, a bill by State Sen. Scott Martin was passed, urging the federal government to repeal the Uniform Time Act of 1966 and allow states to choose for themselves which time procedure to follow.
Rhode Island
Rhode Island’s state legislature does not appear to have any current bills related to daylight saving time.
In previous years, the state has floated the idea of joining the Atlantic Standard Time zone, a proposal similar to those in Connecticut and New Hampshire. But those proposals have not made much headway.
South Carolina
South Carolina passed a bill in 2020 to make daylight saving time permanent, but it won’t take effect unless approved by Congress.
A bill was filed in 2025 to exempt the state from daylight saving time, but it failed to get traction.
South Dakota
In 2024, a bill was introduced to the South Dakota State Legislature to make daylight saving time permanent, pending a congressional change. House Bill 1009 died in the chamber without much progress.
Tennessee
In 2019, Tennessee implemented a law mandating statewide observance of daylight saving time year-round. Although without Congress changing the law, the state law has no effect.
In 2023, measures were filed to exempt the state from observing daylight saving time if surrounding states exempt themselves. The House measure failed while in committee.
Texas
Texas lawmakers have recently introduced several measures into the senate and state assembly regarding daylight saving time. The efforts range from making DST permanent year-round to eliminating it altogether. All but one bill failed to gain traction and died awaiting committee action.
In May, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed into law a measure that would make daylight saving time permanent year-round for the state, if Congress allowed for the time change to take effect.
Other lawmakers proposed that voters decide whether the state should follow daylight saving time or stay on standard time year-round. However, that plan has yet to receive a vote in either legislative chamber.
Utah
Signed into law in 2020, Utah’s move to permanent daylight saving time is contingent on congressional approval and at least four other western states also making the move. These can include Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington or Wyoming.
In early 2025, Utah Rep. Joseph Elison filed a measure that would move the state to standard time year-round unless Congress allows for daylight saving time to be permanent. The bill failed to pass the House.
Vermont
In 2023, Vermont lawmakers attempted to make daylight saving time permanent in the state with House Bill 329. The bill, however, died in committee.
A bill seeking to make standard time permanent if neighboring states do the same was also introduced into the state legislature, but failed to make any progress.
Before 2023, the last attempt to change how the state observes daylight saving time was in 2021, when a bill that would have exempted the state from DST failed to make it out of a House committee.
Virginia
A measure was introduced into the state’s legislature in 2025 but died awaiting action from the House Rules Committee. The bill, HB2001, aimed to make the Commonwealth observe Eastern Daylight Time year-round if Congress allowed the time change to take effect.
It is awaiting action from the House Rules Committee.
In 2023, there were measures to move Virginia to year-round daylight saving time, but they failed in the state Senate after a divided vote on the bill.
A measure to eliminate daylight saving time was also introduced in January. HB2739 aimed to keep Virginia in standard time year-round, but also died awaiting action from the House Rules Committee.
Washington
Despite the state legislature passing a law in 2019 to adopt permanent daylight saving time, it cannot take effect without the approval of Congress, which has consistently failed to bring the issue to a full vote.
A new measure was filed in the state senate for 2024, aiming to keep the state in Pacific Standard Time year-round. The bill is authored by Sen. Mike Padden. The bill failed to pass and was subsequently killed in committee.
A new 2025 version of the bill was reintroduced in January by Sen. Jeff Wilson, but the bill died awaiting action from the assigned committee.
West Virginia
A new bill was filed in 2024 to eliminate daylight saving time in West Virginia, effectively putting the state on Eastern Time year-round. However, it failed to make it out of committee.
Previous attempts to make this change failed in the House when the 2022 legislative session ended.
Wisconsin
The last notable effort in Wisconsin to eliminate daylight saving time was scrapped in 2017 after social media backlash prompted the two legislators who authored the bill to withdraw it. The Associated Press reported that the pair faced backlash from constituents and even calls from upset relatives.
One of the sponsors, Rep. Michael Schraa, conceded, “This would be a lot better if we just stayed on daylight saving time.”
Wyoming
Wyoming’s legislature passed a measure in March 2020 to allow the state to observe year-round daylight saving time, provided it is approved by Congress and three nearby states adopt the same plan. Those states would need to be from: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota or Utah.
The legislature introduced another bill in 2023 to establish Mountain Standard Time year-round, but the effort failed.












