When to Change Your Clocks for Daylight Savings Time and an Update on the Bill That Would End It

If there was ever proof that the United States government doesn't have our best interests in mind, you needn't look further than the fact that a bill that would make Daylight Savings Time permanent (meaning we wouldn't have to change clocks again) has had little-to-no momentum since being introduced a couple years ago.

Which means, yes, once again, we must go through the trouble of setting our clocks back and fighting fatigue as we assimilate to shorter days and the addition of an hour. There might not be a better representation of how malleable our society is as a whole than the fact that twice a year we just completely change the time.

Outdated customs and tradition keep the concept of Daylight Savings Time alive. This year, Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday, November 5th, 2023 at 2am. Clocks will "fall back" one hour at 2am, giving us an extra hour of sleep.

You might recall hearing about the "Sunshine Protection Act," a bill that's been introduced to Congress on an annual basis by Florida Senator Marco Rubio in effort to rid us of the persistent clock-changing. If you've never heard of it, the website SleepFoundation.org provides a bit of backstory:

The Sunshine Protection Act is a bill introduced in the U.S. Senate every year since 2018 by Senator Marco Rubio of Florida. Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) also introduced it in the House of Representatives in March 2023. The bill would establish permanent daylight saving time nationwide. Under the bill’s provisions, there would be no clock changes in the spring and fall.

Arizona, Hawaii, and U.S. territories already following permanent standard time would be exempt from the law. These states and territories would continue using their current system of permanent standard time. Any other state that adopted permanent standard time before the Sunshine Protection Act became law would also be exempt.

Despite being reintroduced to Congress on an annual basis, and reportedly 63% of Americans being in favor of getting rid of Daylight Savings Time, the Sunshine Protection Act shows no signs of gaining any momentum to pass anytime soon.

In March 2022, the act passed the Senate through a process called "unanimous consent." no formal vote occurred, but no senator objected to it being passed. However, a companion bill in the House of Representatives never made it out of committee, so the Sunshine Protection Act stalled and failed to become law, per SleepFoundation.org.

Here are some other key points regarding Daylight Savings Time:

• Clocks will “fall back” one hour at 2am local time on Sunday, November 5, 2023.
• Federal law still prohibits states from enacting permanent daylight saving time (DST).
• Proposed legislation to change federal law, such as Senator Marco Rubio’s Sunshine Protection Act, has stalled in 2023 despite gaining momentum in 2022.
• Dozens of states continue to consider proposals to adopt either permanent daylight saving time or permanent standard time. Yet, no states have adopted a legislative change in 2023.
• Without new movement on proposed changes, Americans should expect clock changes to continue into 2024.

Get our free mobile app

Read more about Daylight Savings Time and its potential end on SleepFoundation.org.