The Sunshine Protection Act: Will the US End DST?
The US House voted 308 to 117 on July 14, 2026 to make daylight saving time permanent nationwide and end the twice-yearly clock change. If you scroll social media, you'd think it already happened. It hasn't. The bill, H.R. 139, is in the Senate, and the latest report, from Time on October 7, 2026, says no hearing or vote is scheduled.
Here's what the bill does, why it's stuck, and what it would change for anyone converting time zones. The status below is dated, because it can change with little notice.
What the Bill Actually Does
The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 (H.R. 139) was introduced in January 2025 by Representative Vern Buchanan and passed the House in July 2026. It locks the clock on the daylight saving schedule, not on standard time. The text of the House-passed bill (on GovInfo) does two things:
- It repeals Section 3 of the Uniform Time Act of 1966, the section that sets the temporary daylight saving period.
- It changes the definition of standard time for each US zone, moving every one an hour ahead. Eastern standard time becomes what is now Eastern daylight time (UTC-4), and so on across the country.
The result is that most of the US would stop falling back in November and stay on today's summer clock all year. The bill text has no separate effective date or delay clause.
One detail that many summaries get wrong is the opt-out. Under current law a state can exempt itself from daylight time and stay on standard time, as Arizona and Hawaii do. The bill keeps that choice only for states and areas that have already exempted themselves before it is enacted. Once it's law, a state that hasn't done so can no longer opt out.
Why the Senate Is the Holdup
The House vote was decisive. The Senate is where this has stalled before and where it is stuck again.
An almost identical bill passed the Senate by unanimous consent in March 2022 (S. 623, on Congress.gov) and then died in the House without a vote. This time the order is reversed: the House has passed it and the Senate hasn't acted.
Time reported on October 7, 2026 that Senate Majority Leader John Thune said there is "no clear path forward or consensus on it yet." Senator Rick Scott and Senator Patty Murray have backed the idea, Senator Tom Cotton is its most vocal opponent, and Senator Roger Wicker has raised safety concerns about children waiting for school buses in the dark in northern and rural states. President Trump supports the bill and has urged Congress to pass it. The Senate Commerce Committee held a hearing on Senator Scott's own version, S. 29, in April 2025, but no hearing or vote on the House-passed bill was reported as scheduled.
Permanent Daylight Time vs Permanent Standard Time
"Stop changing the clocks" isn't one position. It's two, and they disagree.
Permanent daylight time (this bill) means later sunrises in winter and longer evening light. Permanent standard time would keep winter mornings lighter and bring earlier winter sunsets.
The numbers for Chicago in mid-December show the difference. These sunrise and sunset times are calculated from the city's coordinates:
| Permanent daylight time (this bill) | Standard time (today in winter, or permanent) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sunrise, Chicago, mid-December | 8:11 AM | 7:11 AM |
| Sunset, Chicago, mid-December | 5:20 PM | 4:20 PM |
| Clock changes per year | None | Two today, none if permanent |
The US tried permanent daylight time once. It began in January 1974 during an energy crisis and was repealed in October of that year, within a year of starting, after winter mornings with a late sunrise turned opinion against it.
What Changes for Time Zone Math If It Passes
The effect on conversions depends on who the other side is. Here is the gap between New York and some common cities in January and July, today and under the bill, with the other countries changing their clocks as they do now:
| New York to | January today | January under the bill | July (both) |
|---|---|---|---|
| London | 5 h | 4 h | 5 h |
| Berlin | 6 h | 5 h | 6 h |
| Mumbai | 10.5 h | 9.5 h | 9.5 h |
| Tokyo | 14 h | 13 h | 13 h |
| Sydney | 16 h | 15 h | 14 h |
What this shows:
- In the summer nothing changes, because the bill would simply keep New York on its summer clock.
- In the winter every gap shrinks by an hour, for example New York and Mumbai would be 9.5 hours apart all year.
- The US stops moving but Europe doesn't. New York and London would be 4 hours apart in winter and 5 hours apart in summer, so a recurring call would still move for someone twice a year.
States Already Waiting
The National Conference of State Legislatures counts 19 states that have passed laws to adopt permanent daylight time if Congress allows it. Florida was first, in 2018. The list includes Texas, Georgia, Colorado, Louisiana and Tennessee, among others (NCSL's state-by-state tracker). Some of these laws also depend on neighbouring states acting. They can't take effect on their own: the Uniform Time Act lets a state stay on standard time but not on daylight time, which is why the federal bill is needed. Texas's version is covered in the Texas time zone page and Florida's in the Florida one.
What to Do Now
Nothing, yet. The bill hasn't passed the Senate, so the current rules apply: the US moves on November 1, 2026, and the daylight saving 2026 page lists the dates for every region. If the Senate acts, that is where the update will appear first. Until then, the time zone converter uses the rules in force on the date you choose, so your conversions stay right whatever happens in Washington.
Related Articles
- DST Rules by Country: The Complete Guide: how the rest of the world handles, or has abolished, daylight saving time.
- Why the EU Still Hasn't Scrapped Daylight Saving Time: the longer-stalled debate in Europe.
- Daylight Saving Time 2026: When Does It Start and End?: the actual clock-change dates and how the gaps move through the year.
Related glossary terms: What Is DST? · UTC vs GMT