2024-09-20 04:35:02
Topline
Daylight saving time will end and clocks will fall back one hour on Sunday, Nov. 3, in a reversion to standard time that dozens of states and millions of Americans say shouldn’t happen at all due to sleep disruption, increased risk of traffic accidents, worsening of mental health struggles and other unintended consequences.
A man changing time on a clock.
Key Facts
Daylight saving time always runs from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November and, on those days, Americans shift their clocks forward and back one hour, respectively, to make use of more daylight hours in the spring and summer months.
But the practice isn’t universally loved, and lawmakers at the local and federal levels have pushed for years to make daylight saving time permanent and eliminate the back-and-forth, though no proposal has made it through both chambers of Congress.
Lawmakers got closer in 2022, when the Senate passed legislation that would have made daylight saving time permanent starting in 2023, but it did not progress in the House, and new bipartisan legislation introduced this year isn’t expected to move the needle.
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Why Is Daylight Saving Time Controversial?
Proponents of the practice argue increasing the number of sunshine-filled post-work hours is something most Americans appreciate, it increases quality of life and can reduce energy usage in the evening hours. Opponents, however, say it does more harm than good. The act of “springing forward,” or changing the clocks in March, is associated with health risks like increased heart problems, mood disorders and car crashes, the American Medical Association says, adding that some people never adjust to daylight saving time.The American Academy of Sleep Medicine also says permanent standard time better “matches our body’s internal clock.”
Which States Are Looking To Make Daylight Saving Time Permanent?
Lawmakers in at least 30 states have or are considering legislation related to daylight savings time so far this year, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. States are not currently allowed to make daylight saving time permanent under the federal Uniform Time Act passed in 1966, but 19 states have passed legislation or resolutions that would do so if the federal law was ever amended and, in some cases, if the states around them also make the change. Those states include Colorado, Minnesota, Mississippi, Utah, Wyoming and South Carolina. Other states have similar laws pending in state legislatures this year, including Iowa, Illinois, Nebraska and New Jersey. Some states have opposing legislation currently under consideration—SB 1200 in Oklahoma, for example, would make daylight saving time permanent while SB 69 would establish standard time in the state.
Which States Don’t Recognize Daylight Saving Time?
Only two states—Arizona and Hawaii—have successfully passed laws at the state level to stop observing daylight saving time altogether. Puerto Rico, Guam and the Virgin Islands also observe permanent standard time. Other states have said they’d like to do so, but either with caveats that would require neighboring states to do the same (including Georgia, Idaho and Tennessee) or in legislation that has not yet passed (including Alaska, Kentucky, New York and Washington).
