(NEXSTAR) — With kids back in school, NFL games filling the screens, and leaves changing color, it’s clear autumn is on its way. Alongside this seasonal shift, daylight saving time is coming to an end.
This year, the shift back to standard time will occur on November 2nd. Clocks will need to be set back an hour, which has become a topic of frustration for many lawmakers at both state and federal levels.
This frustration might be especially pronounced for those who have pushed for legislation to maintain daylight saving time year-round. However, there’s a significant hurdle: Congress.
While states can potentially establish their own time policies, federal law currently allows only for the adoption of year-round standard time. Hawaii and Arizona (excluding the Navajo Nation) are already adhering to this.
Ten states have passed laws aiming for year-round daylight saving time, contingent upon federal approval.
Florida was the first to embrace year-round daylight saving time back in 2018, and Delaware followed in 2019, setting conditions that it would also adopt it if nearby states like Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania did the same. Yet, despite these initiatives, none of these states have successfully implemented permanent daylight saving time laws.
In 2020, Wyoming introduced a similar bill that would activate only if any of its neighboring states—Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, or Utah—passed comparable legislation. Currently, Colorado is the only state that has made headway on this front.
Other states, such as Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Texas, and Maine, have also passed laws supporting year-round daylight saving time.
In California, voters in 2018 gave permission to their representatives in Congress to make a permanent shift to daylight saving time, but that initiative has yet to materialize.
This year, several other related bills have cropped up across the country, some advocating for permanent standard time, but many remain stalled.
In Washington, four bills addressing daylight saving time have been introduced this congressional session.
Of these, two bills aim to establish year-round daylight saving time across the entire country. The other two would allow individual states to make the choice regarding permanent daylight saving time. Currently, all four bills have been referred to committees, with one needing a second round of voting.
So, what does this mean for most people? If you’re not in Hawaii or most parts of Arizona, prepare for an hour less of sleep on November 2nd.
