WASHINGTON — Daylight saving time ends Sunday and as Americans "fall back" and gain an hour of sleep, many states have passed measures to stay on daylight saving time permanently -- a move that some have called "lock the clock." In some cases, they've floated ideas to get around it.
In almost all the cases that have been approved by states, it requires a literal act of Congress. Under federal law, states are allowed to opt out of daylight saving time and remain on standard time, but are not allowed to remain on daylight time. This year, a bipartisan group of lawmakers in Congress once again proposed staying on daylight saving time year-round with the Sunshine Protection Act.
For some states, they're willing to go forward with it as long as a few of their neighbors do the same.
There's even been a suggestion that some states leave the eastern time zone entirely and adopt a new one used by parts of Canada and a couple U.S. territories.
In the last four years, 19 states have passed legislation or resolutions supporting year-round daylight saving time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Here is where each state stands in the effort to move to daylight saving time all year long. Again, Congress would need to act before states that have enacted laws can make the change.
Alabama
In May 2021, Alabama passed an act that would have the state permanently observe daylight saving time. That bill went into effect in August. The state now waits for any potential repeal of the federal mandate.
Alaska
State Rep. Dan Ortiz introduced House Bill 31 in Feb. 2021 to recognize daylight saving year-round if Congress makes the move by 2030. This bill is still pending in the Alaska state legislature.
Arizona
Arizona, like Hawaii, doesn’t observe daylight saving time, meaning Arizona observes Mountain Standard Time year-round. However, Navajo Nation, which occupies the northeastern part of the state, does observe daylight saving time. That means from May to November every year, Navajo Nation is an hour ahead of the rest of the state of Arizona.
Arkansas
In Dec. 2020, Republican Johnny Rye introduced a bill to the Arkansas House which would permit the state to observe daylight saving time year-round. The bill passed the House 71-24 and made it to the Senate committee of State Agencies and Government Affairs, but it bill failed to pass during the legislative session.
California
California Assembly member Kansen Chu introduced a bill in 2018 that would set the state’s “standard” time to daylight saving time. The bill passed the state assembly unopposed in April of that year and was referred to the state Senate’s committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications. It died on the Senate floor in 2020.
Colorado
Senate Bill 20-105 would have made “spring forward” and “fall back” a thing of the past for Coloradans by implementing year-round daylight saving time. SB 20-105 was introduced by Republican State Rep. Ray Scott to the Senate in January 2020 but never made it out of committee. Similar bills have failed over the years.
Connecticut
Two separate bills were introduced in Connecticut in 2021 that might have gotten the state around the necessary congressional approval. They would have led the state to adopt Atlantic Standard Time (AST) as its official time zone, provided Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York enacted similar legislation. Neither bill, however, was voted on.
Atlantic Standard Time is used by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. When the U.S. is on standard time, AST is one hour ahead of Eastern Standard Time (EST). But when the eastern time zone springs forward, AST stays put -- effectively staying on daylight saving time year-round.
Florida
Florida became the first state to pass a resolution to observe daylight saving time year-round in 2018, federal statute pending.
Georgia
Four separate bills were introduced in the Georgia legislature in 2021. The last of which, SB 100 was signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp on April 21 to recognize daylight time as the standard time in the state.
Hawaii
Hawaii, like Arizona, doesn’t observe daylight saving time. Federal law permits states to opt out of daylight savings but does not allow them to observe it year-round. In 2011, a bill was introduced to the Hawaii House that would have the state opt in, but it never passed.
Idaho
Idaho shares two time zones. The southern part is in the Mountain time zone, while the northern panhandle is in the Pacific time zone along with Washington state. The Idaho legislature passed a measure in 2020 which was signed into law stating that if Washington makes daylight saving time its permanent time, then Northern Idaho will do the same.
Illinois
Seven bills have been introduced in the Illinois House in 2021 regarding daylight saving time. Each would either make daylight saving time permanent in the state or make Illinois exempt from the federal Uniform Time Act. There has been no action on any of these bills since March 2021.
Indiana
Indiana didn't observe daylight saving time until 2006. While the majority of counties in Indiana are in the Eastern time zone, 18 counties in the northwest and southwest parts of the state are in the Central time zone. A check of the Indiana General Assembly shows no pending legislation related to year-round daylight saving time.
Iowa
After six daylight saving time bills failed to advance through the Iowa legislature in 2020, one bill introduced in 2021 is still pending. SF 335 would establish daylight saving time as the standard time zone in the state, but only if six other states in the region — Illinois, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin — enacted similar legislation by July 1, 2031. The bill was referred to the State Government committee in April 2021.
Kansas
While Kansas lawmakers have previously proposed moving to daylight saving time year-round, the proposals have not been voted on by the state legislature.
Kentucky
While Kentucky lawmakers have previously pre-filed bills proposing a move to daylight saving time year-round, the measures have not been voted on by the state legislature.
Louisiana
House Bill 132, making daylight saving time permanent in Louisiana, was signed into law in 2020. Congress just needs to act.
Maine
In 2019, Maine enacted a law to stay on Eastern Daylight Time all year long, but only if Congress acts to allow it. In 2021, Maine commissioned a study on the topic.
Maryland
Maryland House Bill 1013, which would make Eastern Daylight Time the standard time for the state, passed the House in 2021, but stalled in a Senate committee. A separate but similar Senate bill, SB 840, was also introduced in 2021 and ended up stalled in same committee.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts commissioned a study in 2017 that backed year-round daylight saving time. Since then, the state legislature has considered multiple proposals related to daylight saving time; however, none of the measures have passed. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., has been one of the U.S. Senators pushing to ditch the biannual time changes.
Michigan
Michigan's House of Representatives passed a bill in April 2021 to move to year-round daylight saving time as long as Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania also made the switch. The Michigan bill was sent to the Senate, which has yet to vote on the measure.
Minnesota
The Minnesota legislature approved a plan in 2021 to permanently observe daylight saving time, pending congressional approval.
Mississippi
Mississippi lawmakers passed legislation in 2021 for year-round daylight saving time, pending congressional approval.
Missouri
In 2021, lawmakers in Missouri proposed a bill that would permanently put the state at daylight saving time, if three of eight bordering states follow suit. The Missouri House approved the plan, but the state Senate failed to vote on the measure before the session ended.
Montana
Montana passed and signed into law in May 2021 a measure to keep the state in daylight saving time year-round if Congress or the U.S. Department of Transportation approves. Three of these states must also go on full-year daylight saving first: Idaho, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.
Nebraska
A bill under consideration in the Nebraska legislature would move the state to daylight saving time year-round. Before it takes effect, Congress would need to give the go ahead and three adjacent states would need to adopt similar laws backing the time change.
Nevada
A Nevada lawmaker introduced a measure in 2021 to end the twice-yearly clock changes. The plan would have directed the state to adopt either Pacific Daylight Time or Pacific Standard Time year-round — depending on what California does — to keep time zones standardized throughout the region. But the bill died in April.
New Hampshire
In 2021, a New Hampshire lawmaker filed a bill that would move the state to Atlantic Standard Time -- similar to what was proposed in Connecticut above -- throughout the year. It would only go forward if Massachusetts and Maine also made the move. The House bill failed.
New Jersey
In 2021, New Jersey lawmakers in the State Senate and State Assembly proposed establishing daylight saving time as the time year-round, if Congress gives its approval. The measures are still pending.
New Mexico
The New Mexico Senate approved a bill this year that would have made Mountain Daylight Time the state’s permanent time, if Congress gave the go ahead. The measure was rejected by a House committee.
New York
A number of state lawmakers have proposed making daylight saving time permanent in New York, should Congress do its part. If state lawmakers approve the plan, New York’s pending legislation would only take effect if Connecticut, New Jersey and Pennsylvania pass similar legislation.
North Carolina
The North Carolina House passed a bill in April 2021 adopting daylight saving time year-round. The bill was sent to the Senate, but has not progressed. The N.C. Senate failed to pass a similar measure in 2019.
North Dakota
North Dakota's most recent attempt to pass a bill adopting year-round daylight saving time was voted down in the legislature in April 2021. The bill would have taken effect if Minnesota, Montana and South Dakota adopted similar measures.
According to Prairie Public Broadcasting, the bill's main sponsor didn't like the amendment requiring those other three states to be on board first. Montana and Minnesota have passed bills to make the change.
Ohio
Concurrent Resolution 13 in the Ohio House calls on Congress to enact the Sunshine Protection Act. It passed a committee vote on Nov. 1, 2021, but needs to be approved by the full House and would still need to go through the Senate.
Oklahoma
State Sen. Blake Stephens has been leading the charge in the Oklahoma legislature for "locking the clock." He introduced Senate Bill 843 in 2021 aimed at making the change to year-round daylight saving time, but it never got a vote. He said he plans to re-introduce it in February 2022.
Oregon
Oregon legislators passed a bill in 2019 that would keep Oregon on daylight saving time year round. If Congress ever gives the stamp of approval, most of Oregon would no longer “fall back” in November. Because it is in the Mountain Time Zone, Malheur County in Eastern Oregon would be the only place in the state that would not follow this plan.
Pennsylvania
The Pennsylvania House narrowly passed a measure in April 2021 to make daylight saving time permanent, pending congressional approval. But it hasn't gotten much traction in the Senate.
Rhode Island
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island lent his support to the proposed Sunshine Protection Act but his state has not passed its own legislation toward the change.
Rhode Island has also floated the idea in recent years of joining the Atlantic standard time zone similar to what was proposed for Connecticut and New Hampshire. But those proposals have not made much headway.
South Carolina
South Carolina passed a bill in 2020 to make daylight saving time permanent, but it won't take effect until there is approval by Congress.
South Dakota
There have been several efforts in recent years to move South Dakota to daylight saving time all year. A vote in the state House in 2020 ended up in a tie, preventing it from going forward. South Dakota is split between the Mountain and Central time zones.
Tennessee
In 2019, Tennessee implemented a law mandating statewide observance of daylight saving time year-round. Again, Congress must act first.
Texas
Texas has not approved making daylight saving time permanent despite repeated efforts. There were bills introduced in the Texas House and Senate in 2021 to allow voters to decide if they wanted to be on daylight time or standard time year-round. Neither reached the ballot.
Utah
Signed into law in 2020, Utah's move to permanent daylight saving time is contingent on Congressional approval and at least four other western states also making the move. These can include Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Washington or Wyoming.
Vermont
Vermont lawmakers' most-recent attempt to exempt the state from the daylight saving time switchover didn't make it out of a House committee in 2021.
Virginia
Recent attempts to eliminate the time change have failed. A 2018 House bill was tabled in the rules committee. A House joint resolution in 2021 calling on the state to study the effects of daylight saving time was also left in committee.
Washington
Washington state would be on the list of places that don't observe the time change after lawmakers approved permanent daylight saving time in the spring of 2019. It is waiting on Congress.
West Virginia
The West Virginia Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill in 2020 to make daylight saving time permanent, but it failed to make it through the House.
Wisconsin
A notable recent effort in Wisconsin happened in 2017. Two legislators proposed eliminating daylight saving time and going with standard time. But the Associated Press reported that after social media backlash and even calls from upset relatives, they scrapped the plan. One of the sponsors, Rep. Michael Schraa, conceded, “This would be a lot better if we just stayed on daylight saving time.”
Wyoming
Wyoming's legislature passed a measure in March 2020 to allow the state to observe year-round daylight saving time, if approved by Congress and if three of these western states also enact it: Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Utah.
The legislature introduced another bill in 2021 to adopt standard time as the year-round measure instead. It didn't pass.
