Most Americans turned their clocks ahead on Sunday as daylight saving time resumed, despite growing interest across the country in eliminating the twice-a-year time change.
The numbers:
Several states have already taken action. Nineteen states have enacted laws that would establish permanent daylight saving time, but those measures cannot take effect unless Congress first allows it under federal law. Data from the National Conference of State Legislatures shows that 35 states introduced or considered legislation related to daylight saving time in 2025. While many proposals would move states to year-round daylight saving time, some aim to adopt permanent standard time instead.
Background:
Voters in California approved a 2018 ballot initiative authorizing a switch to permanent daylight saving time. However, the change still requires additional action from the state legislature before it could be implemented.
In several states that have already passed DST legislation, the laws are written as conditional measures, meaning they would only take effect if Congress changes federal law or if nearby states adopt the same policy.
In 2022, the Sunshine Protection Act cleared the United States Senate but did not advance in the House of Representatives.
The bottom line:
States are free to move to permanent standard time, as Arizona and Hawaii already have. But switching to year-round daylight saving time requires congressional approval, leaving many state laws in limbo until federal action occurs.
