19 states approved permanent daylight saving time. The last obstacle to locking their clocks could soon fall

(NEXSTAR) – The days getting shorter serve as a reminder that we’re barreling toward the end of our seasonal observation of daylight saving time, but the wheels may be in motion to stop that – a move more than a dozen states have been waiting to happen.

Earlier this year, the House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent throughout the U.S. , with few exceptions. It’s been held up in the Senate since July but, now that the chamber has returned from recess, there’s a chance the legislation could be picked up.

If it can pass the Senate, the bill seems to stand a fair chance of becoming law, with President Trump already expressing support .

For more than a dozen states, this is the closest they’ve been in years to seeing some of their own legislation finally take effect. The U.S. hasn’t been this close to permanent daylight saving time since a version of the Sunshine Protection Act passed in the Senate in 2022 but fizzled in the House.

At present, states are only allowed to opt into year-round permanent standard time , as Hawaii and much of Arizona have done . But that hasn’t stopped 19 states from enacting legislation that would make daylight saving time permanent in their jurisdiction, pending approval from Congress.

In 2018, Florida became the first state to call for year-round DST . It’s congressional lawmakers from the Sunshine State who have spearheaded several attempts to make daylight saving time permanent in the U.S., including the version of the Sunshine Protection Act passed by the House this year.

Last year, Maine and Texas became the latest states to approve year-round daylight saving time legislation.

Several of the states that have enacted similar legislation within the past eight years have stipulations in their bills that further rely on their neighbors locking their clocks. Delaware, for example, followed Florida’s lead but said that Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania must also make daylight saving time permanent. None of them have, though bills to do so in New Jersey and Pennsylvania remain alive.

Colorado , Wyoming, Utah , Montana , Idaho , and Washington have similar requirements within their enacted legislation. Oregon (Malheur County would be excluded) has enacted legislation as well, but awaits action by California. Voters there gave their legislators the OK to lock the clocks in 2018, but the state has failed to do so.

Other states to enact all-year daylight saving time legislation are Alabama , Georgia, Louisiana, Minnesota , Mississippi , Oklahoma , South Carolina , and Tennessee.

States that tried, and failed, to make daylight saving time permanent this year include Alaska, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, New York, Virginia, and West Virginia, according to legislative tracking by Nexstar.

Meanwhile, several states tried to make standard time permanent this year, but also failed (legislation in Michigan , New Jersey , and Pennsylvania remains alive). States can still opt to lock their clocks on permanent standard time under the Sunshine Protection Act.

For now, though, no clocks are locking on daylight saving time.

It’s not clear if or when the Senate could take up the Sunshine Protection Act or if it has enough votes to pass and make daylight saving time permanent. Unless they act quickly, our clocks will “fall back” to standard time on November 1, the earliest possible date daylight saving time can end.