House passes bill to make daylight saving time permanent

WASHINGTON - The House on Tuesday passed with broad bipartisan support legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent nationwide.

The lower chamber voted 308-117 for the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, which would make daylight saving time the permanent standard time. Twenty-two Republicans and 95 Democrats voted against the measure.

The legislation now heads to the Senate.

President Trump has backed the legislation, arguing in a Truth Social post that the bill “is so important in that Hundreds of Millions of Dollars are spent every year by people, Cities, and States, being forced to change their Clocks.”

The House measure was introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) and has long been popular in Florida, where supporters say the extended evening daylight could boost tourism and outdoor recreation.

“Floridians and Americans across the country are tired of the biannual time change, and the evidence is clear that permanent daylight saving time can improve public health, reduce traffic accidents, lower crime and encourage more outdoor activity. Ending the clock change is a commonsense reform that will improve everyday life for millions of Americans,” Buchanan previously said in a statement.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (N.J.), the top Democrat on the Energy and Commerce Committee, has also backed the bill.

What is the Sunshine Protection Act?

The House and Senate versions of the Sunshine Protection Act call for permanent daylight saving time. We would change our clocks in March and skip “falling back” in November.

The Senate tried to fast-track its version of the Sunshine Protection Act last October, only for the effort to be thwarted.

The Sunshine Protection Act would require states to observe year-round daylight saving time unless they exempt themselves before it takes effect.

Which states are already exempt?

Presumably, that part of the Sunshine Protection Act refers to Hawaii and the parts of Arizona that do not change their clocks twice a year. Both states observe standard time (the time we observe from November to March) year-round.

What about the other states?

The rest of the U.S. falls on a spectrum, ranging from having no daylight saving time-related legislation introduced in recent years to being ready to lock their clocks when Congress gives them approval.

Nineteen states – Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wyoming – have already passed legislation to make daylight saving time permanent should Congress allow the move.

Several states also introduced legislation calling for permanent standard time. Only a handful – in Michigan, California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts – remain alive in their respective legislative sessions.

Unless any daylight saving time bills pass through Congress this year, you can expect to set your clocks back on Nov. 1. (Source: The Hill)