Daylight Saving Time is approaching — but some want to change that
There are only a few months until the end of the year — and the end of Daylight Saving Time (DST) is also quickly approaching. Clocks will be set back one hour at 2 a.m. Nov. 2, which means we’ll “gain” an extra hour.
Of course, just a few months later, on March 8, 2026, we set our clocks ahead by one hour, thus resetting the cycle.
Daylight Saving Time became a legal requirement as part of the Uniform Time Act of 1966. However, the idea behind it has been around for much longer.
New Zealand entomologist George Hudson in 1895 proposed moving clocks forward in spring, so the sun would rise later and shine longer in the evening, giving him more time to hunt bugs. British activist William Willett also suggested this, and took the idea to members of the English Parliament in the early 1900s, National Geographic wrote. During the last year of World War I, the U.S. adopted the Standard Time Act of 1918, which aimed to save fuel by extending daylight working hours.
Now, DST is observed everywhere in the United States, barring some territories: Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and two states: Hawaii and most of Arizona. Arizona opted out because of its desert climate, while Hawaii is close to the equator, meaning it gets sunlight throughout the day, despite the season, CBS News reported.
Push to end Daylight Saving Time
Still, not everyone is happy with the system: there’s been legislation introduced at the state and national levels to end DST for years now. A recent Gallup poll found 54% of U.S. adults want to see that happen.
State legislatures in particular have seen over 750 bills and resolutions to stop the time-switching when federal law allows it, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). Much of the debate surrounds whether to enact permanent standard time or daylight saving time.
While every state has considered multiple time zone bills, Florida in 2018 became the first to enact legislation to permanently observe DST — if an amendment to federal law would allow it.
Since then, 19 other states enacted legislation for a year-round daylight saving time, though Congress would have to act before states made the change,
These states, per the NCSL, are: Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Idaho, Louisiana, South Carolina, Utah, Wyoming, Delaware, Maine, Oregon (Pacific Time Zone only), Tennessee, Washington and Florida.
In 2025, 35 states have considered, or are currently considering bills or resolutions on DST.
These are: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas.
Of the eight bills proposed in Texas this year, one was enacted: House Bill 1393, sponsored by state Rep. Will Metcalf, a Republican. It still needs congressional approval, however.
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Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
