Permanent Daylight Saving Time Bill Faces Setback: What Are the Next Steps?

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The ongoing effort to cease the biannual ritual of changing clocks in the United States has once again hit a roadblock in Congress.

Earlier this year, Florida Republicans Senator Rick Scott and Representative Vern Buchanan reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act, a legislative initiative previously spearheaded by the now Secretary of State, Marco Rubio.

The bill, championed by Scott, gained bipartisan backing and even progressed through a committee hearing. It proposed granting federal approval to states that have enacted permanent daylight saving time legislation, allowing them to maintain consistent time throughout the year. Additionally, it offered other states the flexibility to choose whether to adopt this change.

Despite these efforts, Scott, along with fellow lawmakers, attempted to push the bill forward through unanimous consent in the Senate on Tuesday, according to reports from Reuters. This procedural move is intended to speed up the legislative process but requires the agreement of all Senate members to pass, typically reserved for non-controversial bills expected to receive unanimous support.

“This bill is about states’ rights,” Scott said in his remarks on the Senate floor. “It allows the people of each state to choose what best fits their needs and the needs of their families.”

There are states in which year-round daylight saving time could be more enjoyable than others, though health experts believe we should lock our clocks to another permanent time.

While Scott’s bill seemed to have a bright future in the Senate as well as President Donald Trump’s apparent support, it, like its predecessors, has stalled out.

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) thwarted the fast-track effort, noting the complicated history of permanent daylight saving time in the U.S., the possible darkness of winter mornings in some states, and the health benefits of permanent standard time while issuing his objection.

“I don’t like the biannual clock change any more than the rest of you do,” he said while delivering remarks on the Senate floor, adding later on that “not every human problem has a legislative solution.”

“Sometimes we have to live with an uneasy compromise between competing priorities and interests. That’s doubly true when considering how the movement of the stars and the planets affects the lives of 350 million souls spread across our vast continental nation.”

The Sunshine Protection Act did pass in the Senate in 2022, much to Cotton’s dismay. He blamed a miscommunication — “I hadn’t adequately communicated to my staff the depth of my opposition to this bill,” he said in his remarks — and the belief that another senator opposed to the bill would object.

Cotton’s objection to Scott’s bill has again delayed any immediate changes to the biannual practice, at least for now.

Several states, meanwhile, have considered legislation this year to stop changing the clocks, though efforts are largely split between permanent daylight saving time and permanent standard time.

Nearly half of respondents in a recent poll say they are “somewhat” or “strongly” opposed to changing the clocks twice a year. Nonetheless, clocks will fall back an hour on Sunday, Nov. 2, except in two states. Without any immediate changes, clocks will spring forward an hour on March 9, 2026.