US House Passes Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent
US House Passes Bill to Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent
The US House passed a bill to make daylight saving time permanent on July 14, 2026, advancing a proposal that would end the twice-yearly clock changes across most of the United States.
The House approved the Sunshine Protection Act, H.R. 139, by a bipartisan vote of 308–117. The bill now moves to the Senate. It will not change any clocks or time-zone rules unless it also passes the Senate and is signed into law by the president. (House Committee on Energy and Commerce)
For now, the current U.S. daylight saving time schedule remains in effect. In places that observe it, daylight saving time is still scheduled to end on November 1, 2026, when clocks move back from 2:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. local time.
What Did the House Approve?
The House approved the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, introduced by Rep. Vern Buchanan of Florida.
The legislation would repeal the portion of the Uniform Time Act that establishes a temporary annual daylight saving period. It would then advance the federal standard time for each U.S. time zone by one hour. In practical terms, the time currently called daylight saving time would become the year-round standard in most of the country. (GovInfo)
That would eliminate both annual clock changes:
- Clocks would no longer move forward in March.
- Clocks would no longer move back in November.
- Most places would remain on their current daylight saving offset throughout the year.
The House vote is a significant legislative step, but it does not make permanent daylight saving time the current law.
Would the November 2026 Clock Change Be Canceled?
Not yet.
Under current federal rules, daylight saving time in most of the United States ends on Sunday, November 1, 2026. At 2:00 a.m. local daylight time, clocks are scheduled to move back one hour to 1:00 a.m. local standard time.
That clock change remains scheduled unless the Sunshine Protection Act completes the legislative process and takes effect before then.
The bill as introduced does not establish a separate future implementation date. Its changes are written to apply upon enactment. However, because the Senate has not approved the legislation, there is currently no confirmed date on which permanent daylight saving time would begin. (GovInfo)
Travelers, employers, schools and software teams should continue planning around the existing 2026 schedule until a final law is enacted.
How Permanent Daylight Saving Time Would Change U.S. Time Zones
Permanent daylight saving time would move winter clock readings one hour later than under the current system.
Summer clock readings would generally remain the same. The noticeable change would occur during the months when most states currently return to standard time.
For example, Chicago currently uses Central Daylight Time, UTC−5, during the daylight saving period and Central Standard Time, UTC−6, during the winter. Under permanent daylight saving time, Chicago would remain at UTC−5 throughout the year.
New York would remain at UTC−4, Denver at UTC−6 and Los Angeles at UTC−7 year-round.
What Would Happen to Arizona and Hawaii?
The proposal contains special provisions for states and areas that already exempt themselves from daylight saving time.
Hawaii and most of Arizona currently remain on standard time throughout the year. The Navajo Nation, which extends into Arizona, observes daylight saving time.
Under the bill text, jurisdictions already exempt from the seasonal daylight saving rules immediately before enactment could choose whether to retain their existing standard-time offset or adopt the newly advanced federal standard. (GovInfo)
That means the outcome for Arizona, Hawaii and other exempt U.S. jurisdictions would depend partly on decisions made by those jurisdictions if the federal bill becomes law.
The proposal should not be described as automatically placing every part of the United States on the same daylight saving system.
What Happens Next?
The Sunshine Protection Act must now be considered by the Senate.
The Senate could:
- Pass the House bill without changes.
- Pass a different version that would need to be reconciled with the House.
- Delay or decline to vote on the proposal.
- Reject the legislation.
If both chambers approve identical legislation, the bill would then go to the president. The White House said before the House vote that presidential advisers would recommend signing the bill if it reaches the president’s desk. (AP News)
The Senate passed a similar permanent daylight saving time measure in 2022, but that proposal stalled when the House did not take it up. The reversed history is important: House approval in 2026 does not guarantee Senate passage.
Supporters Point to More Evening Daylight
Supporters argue that year-round daylight saving time would provide more usable daylight after work and school.
Because clocks would stay one hour ahead during winter, sunsets would occur approximately one clock-hour later than they would under standard time. Supporters say that could encourage outdoor activity, benefit restaurants and tourism businesses, and eliminate the disruption associated with changing clocks twice a year.
An Associated Press-NORC poll conducted in 2025 found that 56% of U.S. adults preferred permanent daylight saving time when asked to choose between permanent daylight saving time and permanent standard time. About four in ten preferred permanent standard time. (AP News)
Critics Warn About Darker Winter Mornings
Permanent daylight saving time would not create additional daylight. It would move an hour of daylight from the morning, according to the clock, to the evening.
That tradeoff would be most noticeable during winter. Some northern and western parts of each time zone could experience sunrise well after 8:00 a.m. local time.
Opponents have raised concerns about children waiting for school buses in darkness, early-morning commuting and the effect of later sunrises on sleep and circadian rhythms. During the House debate, critics specifically pointed to potentially darker and more hazardous winter mornings. (AP News)
The central policy disagreement is therefore not simply whether the clock changes should end. It is whether the country should remain permanently on daylight saving time or permanently on standard time.
How the Change Could Affect Scheduling and Software
A permanent-time law would require more than changing household clocks.
Calendar services, operating systems, transportation schedules, payroll platforms and other time-sensitive systems rely on time-zone databases containing legally defined clock transitions.
If the bill becomes law, software providers may need to:
- Remove future seasonal transitions for affected U.S. time zones.
- Update scheduled events that were created using previous transition rules.
- Review recurring international meetings.
- Confirm how exempt states and territories will handle the new law.
- Install updated operating-system and time-zone database releases.
- Test payroll, transportation and appointment systems around the implementation date.
International meeting times could also change during parts of the year. Other countries would continue following their own daylight saving schedules.
For example, a recurring meeting between Chicago and London may shift because the United Kingdom would continue moving between Greenwich Mean Time, UTC+0, and British Summer Time, UTC+1, while Chicago could remain at UTC−5 all year.
Organizations should not manually remove future U.S. clock changes from production systems until the legislation is enacted and authoritative time-zone data updates are available.
Does the House Vote Mean Daylight Saving Time Is Now Permanent?
No.
The House vote means the bill has passed one chamber of Congress. It has not yet passed the Senate and has not been signed into law.
Until those steps occur, current U.S. time-zone and daylight saving rules remain unchanged.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did the United States make daylight saving time permanent?
No. As of July 15, 2026, the House has passed legislation proposing permanent daylight saving time, but the proposal has not completed the federal legislative process.
When would permanent daylight saving time begin?
No confirmed effective date is available. The bill must first pass the Senate and be signed into law. The introduced bill text applies its changes upon enactment rather than naming a separate implementation date.
Will clocks still move back in November 2026?
Under current law, yes. Most of the United States is scheduled to move clocks back one hour on November 1, 2026. That will remain the official schedule unless new federal legislation takes effect beforehand.
Would permanent daylight saving time create more daylight?
No. It would change how daylight aligns with clock time. Winter sunrises and sunsets would both occur approximately one clock-hour later.
Would Arizona and Hawaii be required to change?
Not automatically. The bill includes options for states and areas that were already exempt from daylight saving time before enactment. Their final time rules would need to be confirmed if the proposal becomes law.
Would every U.S. time zone move one hour ahead?
Most areas that currently observe daylight saving time would remain on their daylight saving offsets year-round. Special rules could apply to jurisdictions that already use permanent standard time.
Current Status at a Glance
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Item
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Status as of July 15, 2026
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House approval
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Passed July 14, 2026
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House vote
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308–117
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Senate approval
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Pending
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Presidential signature
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Pending
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Permanent DST currently in effect
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No
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Confirmed implementation date
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None
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Next scheduled U.S. clock change
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November 1, 2026
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Editor’s Update
July 15, 2026: This article was published following House passage of the Sunshine Protection Act. The proposal has not yet passed the Senate and has not taken effect. Current U.S. daylight saving time rules remain unchanged.
Sources
- U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce announcement confirming House passage of H.R. 139. (House Committee on Energy and Commerce)
- U.S. Government Publishing Office text of H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025. (GovInfo)
- Associated Press coverage of the House vote, legislative status and arguments raised during debate. (AP News)