States Daylight Saving Laws: Sunshine Act 2026 Status

Published September 24, 2026 - Washington, D.C. The Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent in the United States, passed the House of Representatives on July 14, 2026 by a vote of 308-117 and is now pending in the Senate (Reuters, July 14, 2026).

Eighteen states have passed their own DST-related laws since 2018, but most are contingent on federal action. Until the Senate acts, the November 1, 2026 clock change will happen as scheduled (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2026).

At a glance

• Sunshine Protection Act: passed House 308-117 on July 14, 2026; pending in Senate.
• Senate opposition: Tom Cotton (AR), others - argues winter sunrises too late.
• Trump: publicly supports the bill; White House would recommend signing if it reaches his desk.
• State laws: 18 states have passed DST-related laws since 2018; most contingent on federal action.
• Standard-time states: Hawaii, most of Arizona (excluding Navajo Nation), and all US territories.
• November 1, 2026 clock change: 2:00 AM local time, fall back 1 hour - will happen as scheduled.

Data last verified September 24, 2026 from Congress.gov (H.R. 139), House Energy and Commerce committee press release, Reuters, and the National Conference of State Legislatures state DST tracker.

Quick Answer

The Sunshine Protection Act passed the US House 308-117 on July 14, 2026, but is stalled in the Senate. Until the bill becomes law, daylight saving time will end on Sunday, November 1, 2026 at 2:00 AM local time across most US states.

Eighteen states have passed their own DST-related laws, but most are contingent on federal action. Hawaii and most of Arizona stay on standard time year-round (Reuters, July 14, 2026; NCSL, 2026).

Sunshine Protection Act federal bill status

Source: Congress.gov H.R. 139; House Energy and Commerce press release (July 14, 2026); Reuters (July 14, 2026).

Why the Senate is the hard part

The House passed the bill with broad bipartisan support, but the Senate timeline is uncertain. The 2022 Senate-passed version stalled in the House, and this House-passed version faces an uphill battle.

Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) has been the most visible opponent. He argued the bill would "push winter sunrises to an absurdly late hour" and force children to walk to school "in the pitch black" (The Hill, 2026).

The House rejected an alternative proposal on July 13, 2026 that would have made standard time permanent instead of DST. Both proposals would eliminate the twice-yearly clock change, but on different schedules (Reuters, July 14, 2026).

What the bill would actually do

If the Sunshine Protection Act becomes law, daylight saving time would become year-round nationwide. Clocks would spring forward one final time and never fall back.

Section 3(b) of the bill allows states that have already opted out of DST (currently Hawaii and most of Arizona) to continue observing standard time year-round. States could not opt out of DST independently and continue changing clocks - the federal preemption closes that loophole.

The bill does not state a specific effective date. Under current law text, the change would take effect immediately on signature (timeanddate.com, July 15, 2026).

If signed during DST (summer months), no further clock change occurs. If signed during standard time (winter months), one final spring-forward happens before the new regime begins.

State-level DST laws since 2018

Source: National Conference of State Legislatures DST tracker (2026). 18 states total have passed DST-related laws; most are contingent on federal action.

These state laws cannot take effect independently. They activate only when Congress passes a federal law authorizing permanent DST and only if neighboring states also opt in (in some cases).

States that stay on standard time

Hawaii and most of Arizona are the two states that do not currently observe DST.

Hawaii stays on Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time (UTC-10) year-round by state law passed in 1967.

Arizona (except the Navajo Nation) stays on Mountain Standard Time (UTC-7) year-round by state law passed in 1968. The Navajo Nation, which spans parts of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico, does observe DST to keep time alignment with the rest of the Navajo Nation territory.

The US territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the US Virgin Islands, and American Samoa also stay on Atlantic Standard Time (UTC-4) year-round.

These areas are unaffected by the Sunshine Protection Act - the bill specifically allows them to continue opting out (US Department of Transportation, 2026).

Public opinion on permanent DST vs permanent standard time

A 2025 AP-NORC poll found that 56% of US adults prefer permanent DST (more evening light), while 40% prefer permanent standard time (more morning light). About 4% have no preference.

Public health groups have generally favored permanent standard time. The American Medical Association, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, and the Society of Behavioral Sleep Medicine have all endorsed ending the twice-yearly change by moving to standard time, citing circadian rhythm research.

The Sunshine Protection Act picks the opposite option - permanent DST. Medical groups argue morning darkness would worsen driver fatigue, increase school commute accidents, and disrupt children's sleep (American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 2026).

What changes in November 2026

Without federal action, the November 1, 2026 clock change happens as scheduled. Clocks fall back one hour at 2:00 AM local time.

The practical effects compound through December. Most US cities see sunrise between 7:00 AM and 7:30 AM local time by mid-December, with sunset shifting to 4:30 PM to 5:00 PM.

Morning commutes stay darker in early November than they were at the end of October. But the sun is up by 7:00 AM for most school drop-offs and shift starts.

Retail and hospitality businesses report measurable effects on consumer behaviour. Shopping centres see foot traffic shift earlier in the day. Restaurants report earlier dinner service.

Healthcare scheduling - particularly elective procedures - tends to move earlier in the day. None of these are scientifically studied at scale, but operators consistently note the patterns.

Eastern states move from EDT (UTC-4) to EST (UTC-5). Central states move from CDT (UTC-5) to CST (UTC-6). Mountain states move from MDT (UTC-6) to MST (UTC-7). Pacific states move from PDT (UTC-7) to PST (UTC-8) (US Code of Federal Regulations, 2026).

Hawaii stays on UTC-10. Arizona (most) stays on UTC-7. The territories stay on UTC-4. Alaska and its zones shift accordingly.

What teams should watch

Three calendar events matter for engineering and operations teams in the next 60 days.

First, the November 1, 2026 clock change. Code that uses `Date.now()` and local-time timezone conversions should be tested for the fall-back edge case where 1:00-1:59 AM local repeats.

Most modern date libraries (Luxon, date-fns-tz, Temporal) handle this correctly. Legacy Java SimpleDateFormat and POSIX strftime `%s` can produce silent off-by-one-hour bugs.

Second, the Senate vote if it gets scheduled. A Senate floor vote would be high-news-volume and worth tracking for any team scheduling cron jobs or distributed-system maintenance windows.

Third, any state-level legislative movement. State laws activating contingent on federal action mean the legislative clock is running independently of the federal calendar.

Internal links

For the parallel UK clocks-back change on October 25, 2026, see our UK clocks go back October 2026 post.

For the Canada fall-back on November 1, 2026, see our Canada daylight saving ends November 2026 post.

For the broader US economic context that affects the bill timing, see our September Fed rate decision post.