19 states approved permanent daylight saving time. Why they still have to change their clocks

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Why do we still observe daylight saving time?

Why do we still observe daylight saving time?

(NEXSTAR) – The calendars have flipped to March, which means the clocks are ticking closer and closer to springing forward an hour.

Daylight saving time begins on the earliest possible date this year, March 8, and will quickly give us later sunrises and sunsets.

For many state and federal lawmakers, there is hope that this will be the last time we set our clocks forward an hour. That may be especially true for lawmakers in the 19 states that have enacted legislation to permanently lock their clocks on daylight saving time.

Despite their best efforts, a major roadblock stands between them and their clocks going unchanged all year: Congress. While states have the ability to lock their clocks, current federal regulations limit their decision to year-round standard time only. Hawaii and Arizona (except the Navajo Nation) have done so already. 

Last year, Maine and Texas became the latest states to approve year-round daylight saving time legislation.

Eight years ago, Florida became the first state to call for year-round DST should it receive federal approval. Several congressional lawmakers from the state have since spearheaded several attempts to make daylight saving time permanent (or, in the case of a new bill, half-daylight saving time), with little success.

In 2019, Delaware followed Florida’s lead. Its legislation, however, stipulates that Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania must also lock their clocks on permanent daylight saving time. A bill to do just that was introduced in New Jersey earlier this year and remains in committee as of early March.

Several Western states – Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, Montana, Idaho and Washington – have also enacted legislation that, in addition to requiring federal approval, called for some or all of their neighboring states to do the same. Fulfilling that requirement, the states now await federal approval to lock their clocks on daylight saving time year-round. Oregon (Malheur County would be excluded) has enacted legislation as well, but awaits action by California.

California voters gave their legislators the OK to lock the clocks in 2018, but the state has failed to do so.

Other states to enact all-year daylight saving time legislation are Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee.

Throughout the country, numerous pieces of legislation — some of which call for permanent standard time instead — have been introduced this year.

Meanwhile, in Congress, there are five daylight saving time-related pieces of legislation under consideration.

Two bills, companion legislation introduced in the House and the Senate, would put the U.S. on year-round daylight saving time. Two others would allow states to decide if they want to observe permanent daylight saving time. A recently-introduced bill would enact permanent half-daylight saving time.

All five remain in committee as of early March.

What does this all mean? Unless you live in Hawaii or much of Arizona, your clocks will jump forward an hour on Sunday, March 2, and fall back on Sunday, Nov. 1.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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