(7-10-26) The House of Representatives will vote next week on legislation making daylight saving time permanent nationwide, reviving a years-long effort to eliminate the twice-yearly clock changes.

Daylight saving time has been observed throughout most of the U.S. since the 1960s, shifting clocks forward one hour from March to November. Most states observe daylight saving time, with the exceptions of Arizona and Hawaii.

The Sunshine Protection Act, an effort supported by President Trump, passed the House Energy and Commerce Committee 48-1 in May and allows states to opt out. Proponents of the measure argue the shift causes sleep disturbances and reduces productivity.

The U.S. has previously observed year-round daylight saving time during World War II, and it was briefly enacted by former President Nixon in response to the 1973 oil crisis.

A look back….

“In late 1973, in response to the Arab oil embargo, President Richard Nixon signed the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act to conserve fuel. Year-round DST began in January 1974. While initially supported by 79% of Americans, the policy was swiftly repealed after just one winter due to soaring traffic accidents and public outcry over dark, dangerous morning commutes.


Following the law’s enactment, public opinion plummeted from 79% approval in December 1973 to 42% by February 1974. The primary catalyst for this reversal was the impact on schoolchildren, who were forced to travel to class in complete darkness, leading to a spike in morning accidents and fatalities. By October 1974, Congress repealed the legislation, ending the ten-month experiment.”

ChatGPT

If Congress passes the bill, the Senate approves it, and the President signs it, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, and Michigan would stop changing their clocks twice a year. Here’s what that would mean:

Indiana

  • Indiana currently observes Eastern Time in most counties, with 12 northwestern and southwestern counties on Central Time.
  • Both Eastern and Central areas would remain in their current time zones, but they would stay on daylight saving time year-round.
  • Examples:
    • Indianapolis would remain on EDT (UTC−4) all year.
    • Evansville would remain on CDT (UTC−5) all year.

Ohio

  • Ohio would remain on the Eastern Time Zone.
  • The state would stay on Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) year-round.
  • Columbus and Cleveland would no longer switch back to Eastern Standard Time each November.

Illinois

  • Illinois would remain on the Central Time Zone.
  • The state would observe Central Daylight Time (CDT) all year.
  • Chicago would no longer “fall back” each autumn.

Michigan

  • Almost all of Michigan is in the Eastern Time Zone (except four counties in the western Upper Peninsula, which are on Central Time).
  • Eastern Michigan would stay on EDT year-round.
  • The four western Upper Peninsula counties would remain on CDT year-round.

What would change?

The biggest impact would be during the winter months:

  • Sunrise would occur about one hour later.
  • Sunset would occur about one hour later.
  • There would be no more clock changes in March or November.

If this bill becomes law as proposed, states would have the option to remain on permanent daylight saving time rather than changing clocks twice each year. Whether a state would need to take additional legislative action would depend on the final language of the law and state statutes.