Sunshine Protection Act Awaits Senate Vote on Permanent Daylight Saving Time
Whether the bill advances will determine whether most Americans lose the November clock change, with state-level exemptions creating a patchwork of possible outcomes.
The Sunshine Protection Act, a bill that would make daylight saving time permanent across most of the United States, remains pending before the Senate as of September 2026, according to reporting by Nexstar via The Hill. If enacted, clocks would no longer fall back each November, and Americans in the 48 contiguous states not already exempt would observe daylight saving time year-round.
Under the bill's current language, states may opt out by choosing to remain on permanent standard time. Hawaii and most of Arizona already observe year-round standard time and would not be affected by the legislation, per the same Nexstar report. All other states would default to permanent daylight saving time unless their legislatures acted separately to exempt themselves.
The Sunshine Protection Act is not a new proposal. A version of the bill passed the Senate unanimously in March 2022, according to the congressional record of the 117th Congress, but the House did not bring it to a floor vote before that session expired. The bill was reintroduced in subsequent sessions, but a final vote has not yet occurred in either chamber as of this publication.
The legislation would amend the Uniform Time Act of 1966, which currently governs time zone and daylight saving time observance in the United States and grants the Department of Transportation authority over time zone boundaries. A change of this scale would require the Department of Transportation to update its regulations accordingly.
Proponents of permanent daylight saving time, including the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, have argued in public statements that eliminating the twice-yearly clock change would reduce disruptions to sleep cycles linked to the biannual transition. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine has separately called for permanent standard time rather than permanent daylight saving time, citing evidence it published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine in 2020 that standard time more closely aligns with natural light cycles.
Opponents of the current bill's specific approach, including some public health researchers, have noted in published commentary that permanent daylight saving time would result in darker mornings in many northern states during winter months. Under permanent daylight saving time, cities such as Seattle, Washington, and Detroit, Michigan, would not see sunrise until approximately 9 a.m. Or later on the shortest days of the year, based on standard astronomical calculations for those latitudes.
The bill has attracted bipartisan sponsorship in prior sessions. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) has been a lead sponsor in multiple Congresses, and the bill has drawn co-sponsors from both parties, per prior Senate records. The specific co-sponsor list for the current session has not been confirmed in the source material available to this publication.
Economic arguments have been raised on both sides. The Chamber of Commerce has previously expressed support for extended evening daylight, citing retail and recreation spending patterns. Agriculture groups have historically opposed daylight saving time, arguing it disrupts farm schedules tied to natural light, per prior congressional testimony records.
The practical effect of the bill would vary significantly by geography and time zone. States on the western edge of a time zone would experience the latest sunrises under permanent daylight saving time, while states on the eastern edge would be less affected. Exact sunrise and sunset times by city are calculable through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's solar calculator, a public federal tool.
What remains unknown is whether Senate leadership has scheduled a floor vote, which committee the bill currently sits in, and whether the House has a companion bill with active committee consideration. The Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee has jurisdiction over the Uniform Time Act. A review of that committee's published hearing schedule and the House Energy and Commerce Committee's schedule would confirm the current status of the legislation.