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(NEXSTAR) — Across most of the United States, people sprang forward early Sunday morning as daylight saving time took effect, nudging clocks an hour ahead.
While this shift may have cost you an hour of sleep, residents in two states experienced no such disruption.
Hawaii and a large portion of Arizona have opted out of the twice-yearly clock adjustment, choosing to remain on standard time throughout the year. If you have ever visited these states, the rationale may seem clear.
In recent years, numerous other states have attempted to fix their clocks in place permanently. Almost 20 states have passed laws aiming for permanent daylight saving time, although current federal regulations only permit states to adopt permanent standard time. However, proposed legislation introduced in Congress last year could potentially alter this rule.
Despite many state-level initiatives pushing for permanent daylight saving time, more than a dozen states are still considering legislation to establish permanent standard time.
That includes bills in Alaska, California, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, and Vermont. In some cases, the legislation has been carried over from the previous session.
In Virginia, a bill that would put the state on standard time year-round passed through the Senate in February. The House Rules committee voted last week to carry it over to its 2027 session. The bill calls for Virginia’s clocks to lock so long as those in the District of Columbia and Maryland do the same. Local officials in the District of Columbia have considered such legislation, while no seasonal time change bills have been introduced in Maryland during the current session.
A similar bill introduced in Illinois depends on Indiana, Iowa, Missouri, and Wisconsin also opting into permanent standard time. Missouri and Wisconsin lawmakers are considering such bills, while current legislation in Iowa would make daylight saving time permanent.
Year-round standard time bills are also under consideration in Minnesota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Washington, where permanent daylight saving time bills have already been signed into law.
Health experts generally agree that we should lock our clocks on permanent standard time, but federal efforts have largely focused on making daylight saving time permanent.
There are five bills in Congress – two for permanent daylight saving, two to leave the decision to the states, and one calling for half-daylight saving time – that remain in committees.
It’s too soon to say whether Congress will pass any of the bills that have been introduced, or whether any additional state-level laws will be enacted.
Without any wide-sweeping action, our clocks will fall back an hour on November 1 – the earliest possible date for daylight saving time to end.