A vote this week in the U.S. House of Representatives just made the possibility of year-round daylight saving time closer to reality. How would that change our lives?
H.R. 139, the Sunshine Protection Act led by Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.), would make daylight saving time (DST) the new standard, permanent time in the U.S. However, it should not be confused with that is currently considered standard time (ST).
What is DST?
When the clocks “spring forward” in March and we lose an hour of sleep, that’s DST. When the clocks “fall back” in November and we gain an hour, that’s ST.
This practice is linked to cross-country rail traffic and a need to standardize times and it’s been observed in parts of the country for more than a century. In 1966 it became a legal requirement with the Uniform Time Act. Some areas don’t observe DST, including Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and most of Arizona.
As for why lawmakers (308-117) in the House agreed that DST should be observed all year, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said it is “a response to the advocacy of our constituents and the evidence that year-round daylight saving time boosts economic activity and improves public safety.”
“Establishing permanent daylight saving time will provide Americans with greater consistency, more usable daylight in the evening, and the certainty that comes with ending the twice-yearly clock changes,” said Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.). “Americans are ready to ditch the switch, and today we took an important step toward making that long-overdue goal a reality.”
During an April 2025 hearing on potentially doing away with changing the clocks, Jay Karen, CEO of the National Golf Course Owners Association, advocated for permanent DST to allow more time for activities such as golf later in the day. On the other hand, Dr. Karin Johnson, a practicing physician and professor of Neurology at UMass Chan School of Medicine Baystate (on behalf of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine), said permanent standard time would actually be a healthier option.
What happens to the Sunshine Protection Act now?
Now that the Sunshine Protection Act has passed in the House, its headed for the Senate. While President Donald Trump has expressed support for ending the practice of changing the clocks, NBC News said its future in the Senate looks “murky” at this point.
“A Senate version of the Sunshine Protection Act stalled last year after Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., objected to fast-tracking the bill’s passage via unanimous consent in October,” said the outlet. It noted that the senator raised concerns about “parts of the country where the sun wouldn’t rise until 9 a.m. or later,” and potentially dangerous dark morning commutes.
How would it impact people across the country?
On that note… what exactly would permanent DST look like? As Cotton pointed out, the move could push sunrise to 9 a.m. in some parts of the country.
Maps shared by the ST advocacy group Save Standard Time show that the latest sunrises would range from 8 am. to 9 a.m. depending on time zone. Those maps also show that there would be more than 100 days per year with a sunrise after 8 a.m. in some parts of the country.
That means that people working a 9 am. to 5 p.m. job could end up getting ready or driving to work in the dark. Most students in the U.S. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, most students in the U.S. also start class around or before 8 a.m.
Overall, the Farmer’s Almanac said that permanent DST would mean “more daylight during the evening hours but later sunrises during the winter months, especially across northern states.”
