⏱️ 2 min read
By the PILLARS team. Updated November 6, 2026.
The Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 (H.R. 139) would make daylight saving time permanent, so clocks would stop changing twice a year. The House passed it 308 to 117 on July 14, 2026. The Senate has not voted on it, so it is not law.
What does the Sunshine Protection Act do?
Today most of the country moves its clocks forward an hour in March and back an hour in November. The bill ends that switch by making daylight saving time the time all year.
It repeals the part of the Uniform Time Act of 1966 that sets the daylight saving time period each year.
It moves each time zone’s standard time forward one hour, so the time people keep in summer becomes the time all year.
States and areas that do not observe daylight saving time today, such as Hawaii and most of Arizona, can choose to keep their current time or move to the new one.
The bill has no separate start date, so the change would apply once it becomes law.
What it would mean for you
If your state changes its clocks today, you would stop changing them. In winter, sunrise and sunset would both come about an hour later than they do now. Summer would not change.
Where it stands
The House passed the bill 308 to 117 on July 14, 2026. The Senate received it the next day and sent it to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, where it has not had a vote. Until the Senate passes it and the President signs it, clocks keep changing in March and November.
What supporters and critics said
Both quotes are from the House debate on July 14, 2026, as printed in the Congressional Record.
The case for. Rep. Gus Bilirakis (R-FL): “Changing the clocks twice a year creates unnecessary disruption. I know you agree, Mr. Speaker. It affects sleep patterns, impacts family routines, creates confusion for businesses, and requires everyone--from parents and students to employers and employees and even our pets--to adjust their schedules for no meaningful benefit.”
The case against. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-PA) argued for permanent standard time instead: “Early morning light is an important environmental cue to set our bodies’ internal clocks and promote alertness, and dim evening light tells our bodies that it is time to sleep. … The American Medical Association, American Academy of Sleep Medicine, National Sleep Foundation, and dozens of other societies tell us that if we stop the clock, permanent standard time is a healthier choice--permanent standard time.”
See how your representatives voted
PILLARS shows how every member of the House voted on the bill and tracks it in the Senate: Sunshine Protection Act (H.R. 139) on PILLARS.
