When does daylight saving time start? See 2025 dates, why Texas lawmakers want it to end

Yahoo

26-02-2025

After several unusually cold periods in Texas this winter and the first "fake spring," temperatures are back on the rise — for now, anyway. Punxsutawney Phil and Bee Cave Bob both saw their shadows on Groundhog Day, indicating lingering winter weather.
The Farmer's Almanac also predicts a chilly start to spring, though above-average temperatures are expected later in the season.
Regardless of the temperatures, the official start of spring is less than a month away. But even before that, Texans will see another sign of the changing seasons: daylight saving time.
Daylight saving time is set to begin on Sunday, March 9, 2025. In the early hours, time will jump forward by one hour from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. This marks the shift to local Daylight Saving Time (DST).
Many devices, such as phones and computers, will automatically change to DST, but non-smart devices, such as microwaves and some car radios, as well as any clock with hands, will likely need to be changed manually.
Daylight saving time ends on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. At 2 a.m. clocks will fall back an hour to 1 a.m., granting an extra hour of sleep.
The start of daylight saving time means dawn and sunset will be an hour later on Sunday, March 9 than they were on Saturday, March 8.
For most Americans, except those in Arizona, Hawaii, and a handful of other places, the start of daylight saving time means losing an hour of sleep on March 9. While standard time allows for more daylight in the mornings during winter months, daylight saving time adjusts for longer days.
Winter officially ends with the first day of spring on Thursday, March 20, 2025.
The longest day of 2025, also known as the summer solstice, is Friday, June 20. Central Texas will get around 14 hours of daylight.
On the flip side, 2025's winter solstice — the shortest day of the year — is Sunday, Dec. 21. Austin will see just over 10 hours of daylight.
The Earth is tilted approximately 23.5 degrees on its axis, and each solstice is dictated by the amount of solar declination, or "the latitude of Earth where the sun is directly overhead at noon," according to National Geographic.
The practice of daylight saving time has made its way back to debates among Texas lawmakers. After failing in the 2023 legislative session, Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, has proposed a bill that would allow the state to remain in standard time all year as allowed by the Uniform Time Act of 1966. This differs from previous attempts, which have generally suggested states remain in daylight saving time — an act barred by federal law.
"The twice-a-year clock change is disruptive and unnecessary," Zaffirini said in a statement to The Texas Tribune. "Studies have linked these shifts to increased traffic accidents, negative health effects, and decreased productivity."
In 2022, U.S. Senator Marco Rubio, R-Florida, made such a proposal with the Sunshine Protection Act of 2023. Although the Senate passed it, the bill stalled in the House.
"It's time to lock the clock and stop enduring the ridiculous and antiquated practice of switching our clocks back and forth," Rubio said toward the end of last year.
The opposite happened in the 2023 Texas legislative session, in which Zaffirini and Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, proposed the state's permanent shift to daylight saving time. House Bill 1422 earned bipartisan support in the House but stalled in the Senate. Metcalf has filed a similar bill this year.
"Texas doesn't need to wait for Washington," Metcalf said in a news release. "By passing HB 1393, we'll demonstrate leadership and send a strong message that Texans are ready to move forward."
If Zaffirini's Senate Bill 64 is passed and Congress reverses previous rulings against the permanent adoption of daylight saving time, Texas voters could decide which time zone they would prefer to implement year-round.
All but two U.S. states observe daylight saving time. Some states want to make it permanent, while others have moved to make standard time permanent.
Experts say that time changes are detrimental to health and safety, but they agree that the answer isn't permanent DST.
"The medical and scientific communities are unified... that permanent standard time is better for human health," said Erik Herzog, a professor of biology and neuroscience at Washington University in St. Louis and the former president of the Society for Research on Biological Rhythms.
Most Americans would prefer to do away with time changes. About 43% want year-round standard time, 32% want permanent daylight saving time and 25% want to stick with the status quo, an October 2021 Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll found. For now and in the near future, most Americans will keep going through the jarring time changes that come around twice a year.
Hawaii and Arizona (with the exception of the Navajo Nation) remain in standard time and never experience time changes.
More: Could daylight saving time ever be permanent? Where it stands in the states
In recent years, Congress has faced the opportunity to stop changing clocks. In 2022, the U.S. Senate unanimously approved the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent, however the U.S. House of Representatives did not pass it and President Joe Biden did not sign it.
In December, then-President-elect Donald Trump said he aims to put an end to daylight saving time and make standard time year-round.
"The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't!" Trump wrote on social media site Truth Social. "Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation."
— USA TODAY contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Daylight saving time 2025: Why Trump, Texas lawmakers want it to end