WASHINGTON D.C. — A bill to make Daylight Saving Time (DST) permanent in the United States over-whelmingly passed the House Of Representatives, 308-117, and now goes to the Senate where its fate is less certain.
The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, which would make daylight saving time the permanent standard time cruised to passage with extensive bi-partisan support. The opponents were 22 Republicans and 95 Democrats who voted no.
Washington lawmakers approved a permanent switch to DST in 2019 with a law signed by former Gov. Jay Inslee, but Substitute House Bill 1196 (SHB 1196) cannot officially take effect until current federal law (the Uniform Time Act) is changed via congressional approval and Presidential signature.
Pres. Donald Trump has indicated he will sign a permanent time change into law if it reaches his desk. Trump actively urged Congress to pass legislation to end the biannual ritual of changing clocks.
Advocates for permanent DST tout phrases like “lock the clock”. Supporters say it provides Americans with more usable, post-work “sunshine” and boosting activities like outdoor recreation and tourism.
Congressional supporters of the Sunshine Protection Act argue that ending the biannual time change is a simple way to protect “precious daylight” during evening hours when Americans are most active. Backers emphasize that this permanently shifts sunlight to the afternoon, yielding benefits like economic stimulation and preventing the time-change-related health, sleep, and public safety issues caused by “falling back”.
Currently, 48 states and Washington, D.C., observe DST. Hawaii and most of Arizona observe permanent standard time and do not change their clocks.
The Sunshine Protection Act would require states to observe year-round DST unless they exempt themselves before it takes effect. Hawaii and parts of Arizona observe constant standard time are the only jurisdictions in that category right now.
Daylight saving time-related legislation in other states varies.
Nineteen states, including Washington, have already passed legislation to make daylight saving time permanent should Congress allow the move. They are Alabama, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Louisiana, Maine, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. They now wait for Senate approval.
Opponents of permanent DST include an Arizona-based group, Save Standard Time, a 501(c)(4) non-profit dedicated to permanently restoring longitudinally correct Standard Time. It was founded in 2019, citing benefits to human health, education, and public safety, to promote legislation at state and federal levels across North America.
Save Standard Time called for support of the “Sunshine for Our Kids Act,” (HR 9368) introduced in July 2026 by Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon (D-PA) and Rep. Pat Harrigan (R-NC). It aims to end the twice-yearly clock changes by making standard time the permanent default nationwide.
Opponents of permanent Daylight Saving Time (DST)—including sleep researchers and medical organizations—argue that later winter sunrises force children to commute and wait for the bus in the dark, heightening safety hazards.
The switch to ditch the bi-annual time change induces strong public response. Since yesterday’s bill passage in the House, social media comments include the following.
- A wise, Native American once said, “Only the government would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket, sew it to the bottom, and have a longer blanket.”
- Split the difference! Make a 30-min time change and problem solved!
- Those living on the edges of their time zone will feel it the most no matter which is chosen.
The political news website Semafor.com is reporting that U.S. Senator, Tom Cotton (R-AR) will block the Sunshine Protection Act and that Senate Republican Whip, Tom Barrasso (R-WY), says the daylight savings bill cannot pass the Senate by unanimous consent because the politics of it are “not as simple as what one state might like.”
The EverettPost.com is seeking comment about the potential federal shift to permanent DST from local school districts including Mukilteo, Marysville, and Everett and is waiting to hear back.
This graphic shows what sunrise and sunset would typically be in a variety of U.S. cities if the federal change becomes permanent.
⏰END OF DAYLIGHT SAVINGS?⏰
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would keep the country on the time observed from March to November unless a state exempted itself earlier.
If the Senate passes the bill and it is signed into law, this… pic.twitter.com/YOnk5Q9gJx
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) July 15, 2026
Here’s some of the history of the adoption of Daylight Saving Time that has fueled this debate.
1918 (Standard Time Act): Originally adopted during World War I, the U.S. embraced DST to conserve fuel and power for the war effort. It was repealed after the war but remained in use by some individual localities.
1942 (World War II): President Franklin D. Roosevelt instituted year-round DST, known as “War Time,” which lasted until 1945. Afterward, a chaotic two-decade period followed where individual states and cities chose their own start and end dates.
1966 (Uniform Time Act): Congress stepped in to standardize the chaotic jumble of local clock changes. It established a uniform system where DST would run from the last Sunday in April to the last Sunday in October.
1974 (Energy Crisis): President Richard Nixon temporarily signed year-round DST into law to maximize evening sunlight during the 1973 oil embargo. However, due to public backlash regarding dark winter mornings and safety concerns, it was reversed by the end of the year.
2005 (Energy Policy Act): The most recent change, in effect since 2007, extended the duration of DST. It now begins on the second Sunday in March and ends on the first Sunday in November.