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Newsweek
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
'Texas Time' Moves a Step Closer
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. On Thursday the Texas Legislature approved House Bill 1393, which would make daylight saving time permanent across the state abolishing the current requirement for biannual clock changes. The bill will now go before Governor Greg Abbott who can sign it into state law, though even if this happens the change wouldn't actually take effect without changes to superseding federal legislation. Newsweek contacted Governor Abbott for comment via email on Friday outside of regular office hours. Why It Matters The current twice-yearly clock changes across the U.S. are controversial and in April President Trump gave his support to a bill that would have introduced year-round daylight-saving time. The U.S. did introduce year-round daylight saving in the early 1970s following an energy crisis but this was swiftly abandoned amid public anger at going to work, and sending children to school, in the dark. What To Know Texas House Bill 1393 was passed by the Texas Senate on Thursday with 27 votes in favor and four against according to Dallas News reporter Phil Jankowski. The bill would introduce a new statewide "Texas time," making daylight saving permanent across Texas, but only "if the United States Congress enacts legislation that becomes law that authorizes the State of Texas to observe daylight saving time year-round." This would apply across the state, both to the vast majority of Texas which currently falls under the Central Time Zone and the far western section which is part of the Mountain Time Zone. Texas Senator Ted Cruz called for biannual time changes to be ended in April during a committee appearance. A stock photo shows the Texas state flag at River Oaks Country Club in Houston on April 5, 2024. A stock photo shows the Texas state flag at River Oaks Country Club in Houston on April 5, 2024. Aaron M. Sprecher/GETTY Currently 20 states have passed laws that would abolish clock changes if they are given permission to do so by the federal government. Clock changes became a standard feature across the U.S. with the passage of the Uniform Time Act in 1966, though Hawaii and most of Arizona are exempt from observing daylight saving time. In 2022 the Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would have made daylight saving time permanent, but this stalled in the House. In a post on his Truth Social website in December 2024 then-president elect Trump said: "The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn't! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation." What Time Zones Does Texas Have? Most of Texas, including the major cities of Houston, Dallas, Austin and San Antonio, are currently part of the Central Time Zone. However the western counties of El Paso and Hudspeth form part of the Mountain Time Zone. What People Are Saying Texas House Bill 1393 says: "This state, acting as authorized under federal law, shall observe daylight saving time year-round. This subsection applies to both the portion of this state using central standard time as the official standard time and the portion of this state using mountain standard time as the official standard time." Senator Paul Bettencourt, a Republican who sponsored the bill, said according to The Texas Tribune: "This is effectively a trigger bill waiting for change with the federal government." What Happens Next It remains to be seen whether Governor Abbott will sign House Bill 1393 into Texas law. Even if he does, its provisions won't take effect without changes to federal legislation.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Could Texas have daylight saving time year-round?
AUSTIN (KXAN) — Last month, the Texas House passed a bill that would keep daylight saving time year-round in Texas. With the bill on its way to the Senate floor, it has a real chance of becoming law. Even if passed, however, the bill has a caveat. It will only go into effect if the United States Congress enacts legislation that allows the state to observe daylight saving year-round. If no legislation is passed, the bill will not go into effect. This comes as part of the Uniform Time Act, a federal law that establishes uniform daylight saving time throughout the nation. States have the option to opt-out of daylight saving time and remain on standard time year-round, which is what Arizona and Hawaii established. But the act prevents states from establishing permanent daylight saving or changing their time zones without federal approval. HB 1393 is a repeat of last session's push by the bill's author Rep. Will Metcalf, R-Conroe, to observe daylight saving time year-round. While it failed last session, it may have a better chance with proponent President Donald Trump in office. Senators introduce measure making daylight saving time permanent year-round 'The House and Senate should push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day,' Trump posted on Truth Social in April. 'Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!' Metcalf responded on X, 'Thank you President @realDonaldTrump I couldn't agree more! I'm proud to share that my HB 1393 to make DST permanent has passed the TX House. It's on its way to the TX Senate now!' A previous KXAN Facebook poll found that over 90% showed preference to staying on one time year-round. The question was which time to choose. While some like to have more light later in the day, others want it brighter in the morning when they, say, take their children to school. This bill would have Texans vote on the future of daylight saving time Some lawmakers believe the decision should be left up to the voters. Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, and Rep. Vikki Goodwin, D–Austin, proposed an amendment that would eliminate the time change and ask Texas voters to choose between observing standard time year-round and observing daylight saving time year-round in a statewide referendum. This proposal has not yet advanced as far in the legislature as HB 1393. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Senate holds hearing on daylight saving time — will the US ‘lock the clocks?'
(NEXSTAR) — The U.S. has had a back-and-forth relationship with daylight saving time, and another chapter unfolded on Thursday. The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing on Thursday — titled 'If I Could Turn Back Time: Should We Lock The Clock?' — to 'examine the various issues around whether the country should continue 'springing forward' and 'falling back' each year with time.' 'Congress has the authority to end this outdated and harmful practice. This hearing is an excellent opportunity to examine a thoughtful and rational approach to how we manage time. Whether we lock the clock on standard time year-round or daylight saving time, let's put our health, the economy, and well-being first and embrace a sensible approach to time management,' committee chairman Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said in his opening remarks. Daylight saving time 2025: These states are trying to 'lock the clocks' Witnesses who appeared during the hearing included representatives from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the National Golf Course Owners Association, and the Lock the Clock Movement — all of which have previously expressed interest in the changing of the clocks. You can watch the majority of Thursday's hearing in the video player at the top of this story. Companion bills to make daylight saving time permanent have been introduced in Congress, including one bill referred to Cruz's committee, while another bill would give states the power to observe daylight saving year-round — more on that in a moment. The U.S.'s back-and-forth relationship with daylight saving time has been ongoing for over a century. It started as a wartime measure in 1918, only to be rolled back after a year. It returned in 1942 during World War II but was vastly more chaotic than it is today. Seasonal clock changes were enacted in 1966, but seven years later, the U.S. again observed year-round daylight saving time due to a national energy crisis. What would change if daylight saving time became permanent? Americans broadly supported the practice at first, until dark winter mornings prompted safety concerns, especially among parents. The nation returned to twice-a-year clock changes in 1974 and has largely stayed on the same schedule. Over the last several years, there have been efforts to put the U.S. back on permanent daylight saving time, a move with which many health experts disagree. They instead recommend permanent standard time, which would provide us more sunlight in the mornings — a factor that can positively impact our sleep and circadian rhythm, which have further been connected to other health outcomes. States that have proposed or enacted legislation targeting the changing of the clocks have generally split between locking them on permanent standard time or daylight saving time. Only two states observe year-round standard time, an option afforded them by Congress' 1966 Uniform Time Act. States cannot opt for permanent daylight saving time. In most cases, the states standing on that side of the clock have introduced or passed measures calling on Congress to enact permanent daylight saving time or outlining conditions in which the state would observe daylight saving time permanently (typically based on actions by Congress or neighboring states). A House bill to give states the power to observe daylight saving time all year has been introduced and referred to committee. What if we didn't 'spring forward' when daylight saving time begins? Multiple other states, however, have seen legislation introduced during their current legislative session to put the state on permanent standard time or exempt it from daylight saving time. None have passed as of early April. Any current widespread action regarding daylight saving time would depend on Congress taking action. President Donald Trump previously expressed support for ending daylight saving time but signaled in March that he would not push for it, calling it 'a 50/50 issue.' 'It's a 50/50 issue, and if something is a 50/50 issue, it's hard to get excited about it,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. 'It's something I can do, but a lot of people like it one way. A lot of people like it the other way. It's very even. And usually, I find when that's the case, what else do we have to do?' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Daylight saving time is almost here: When to 'spring forward' and why we do it
Most Americans should consider going to bed early Saturday night, because they are about to lose an hour of sleep. Daylight saving time is imminent, meaning that on Sunday, 2 a.m. will become 3 a.m. in the matter of a seconds. On the bright side, the "spring forward" will delay when day becomes night leading to sunnier drives home from work for many. The new time schedule will go until November, when standard time returns ahead of the holiday season. Here's what to know about "spring forward" this weekend, including when the process began, which two states are exempt from it and efforts to end time changes permanently. Cancel daylight saving time? Elon Musk stirs debate. Daylight saving time begins on Sunday, March 9 at 2 a.m. local time. Daylight saving time is the time between March and November when most Americans adjust their clocks ahead by one hour. We lose an hour in March (as opposed to gaining an hour in the fall) to make for more daylight in the summer evenings. In the Northern Hemisphere, the vernal, or spring equinox, is on March 20, marking the start of the spring season. Daylight saving time ends for the year on Sunday, Nov. 2. Hawaii and most of Arizona do not observe daylight saving time. Because of its desert climate, Arizona doesn't follow daylight saving time (with the exception of the Navajo Nation). After most of the U.S. adopted the Uniform Time Act, the state figured that there wasn't a good reason to adjust clocks to make sunset occur an hour later during the hottest months of the year. The Standard Time Act of 1918 was the first law to implement standard and daylight saving times at the federal level. "Federal oversight of time zones began in 1918 with the enactment of the Standard Time Act, which vested the Interstate Commerce Commission with the responsibility for establishing boundaries between the standard time zones in the U.S.," according to The U.S. Department of Transportation. "This responsibility was transferred from the Interstate Commerce Commission to DOT when Congress created DOT in 1966." The DOT oversees the observance of daylight saving time, as well as U.S. time zones, according to the federal agency. The DOT cited energy reduction and reduced crime as reasons for having both standard and daylight saving time. Recent bills that would make daylight saving time the national year-round standard have languished in committee after being introduced in January. Officials have vowed to put an end to the procedure, including President Donald Trump, who said in a Truth Social post in December that "the Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate daylight saving time." However, since resuming office for his second term in January, the president has not issued any executive orders on the issue. Congress, which has a narrow GOP majority, has also not shown a major push on the issue. More: City workers try to get falls flowing again More: Guest viewpoint: What to know about the Nymphea Solar Project | Opinion Contributing: Alexis Simmerman, Jana Hayes, The Oklahoman, James Powel, Emily DeLetter, Jennifer Sangalang, USA TODAY Network. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Daylight saving time 2025: When we 'spring forward' for time change
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Daylight saving time starts Sunday. What to know about 'springing forward.'
After a long winter of short days, it's finally time to spring forward. Clocks across the U.S. will jump from 1:59 a.m. to 3 a.m. Sunday. Here's what you need to know about daylight saving time and why we change the clocks twice a year in the U.S. Daylight saving time will start Sunday and last until Nov. 2. Standard time will have been in effect from Nov. 3, 2024, until Sunday. The springtime clock change differs from the fall. Unlike the fall, when we gain an extra hour and the clocks fall back, we lose an hour in the spring. But that turns into longer days and brighter evenings as the spring and summer months begin. It will remain in effect until we turn the clocks back to standard time, which comes back into effect on Nov. 2 as we ready for winter and usher in an era of shorter days. The U.S. has been observing daylight saving time since 1918, with the passage of the Standard Time Act, according to the U.S. Astronomical Applications Department. It was an effort to extend summertime daylight hours by pushing off sunset an hour. Daylight saving time wasn't totally accepted at first — it was quickly repealed in 1919, making the changing of clocks a local matter. The practice was officially reinstated during the early days of World War II and was observed from 1942-45, according to the department. Daylight saving time varied by state until 1966 with the passage of the Uniform Time Act, which standardized dates of daylight saving time, but allowed for states and localities to opt out of the practice if they did not want to participate. Since that act passed, the standardized dates have been changed throughout the years, according to the department. But the dates have remained the same since 2007. Since then, daylight saving time had started on the second Sunday in March and ended on the first Sunday in November. Yes. Residents in Hawaii and most of Arizona won't lose an hour of sleep Sunday night. The two states do not observe daylight saving time and do not change the clocks twice a year, according to the Astronomical Applications Department. The U.S. Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act, which would make daylight saving time permanent year-round and usher out the era of changing clocks, in March 2022. Under the bill, Hawaii and most of Arizona would continue to observe year-round standard time. But the bill stalled in the House of Representatives, so the U.S. will continue to flip the clocks every six months until new legislation is passed in the House and Senate and then signed by the sitting president. President Donald Trump addressed the practice this week when asked by a reporter when he is going to 'get rid of' daylight saving time. 'I assume people would like to have more light late, but some people want to have more light earlier because they don't want to take their kids to school in the dark,' he said, calling the issue '50-50.' 'But a lot of people like it one way, a lot of people like it the other way. It's very even,' he said. 'And usually, I find when that's the case, what else do we have to do?' Shortly after winning the election last year, Trump said he and Republicans would try to 'eliminate' daylight saving time, calling it inconvenient and costly. It was unclear at the time whether he was referring to eliminating daylight saving time or making it permanent. Almost all U.S. states have considered legislation to avoid changing the clocks, staying on either standard or daylight saving time year-round. In the last six years, 20 states have passed bills or resolutions to codify year-round daylight saving time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. But since federal law does not currently allow year-round daylight saving time, those states are in a holding pattern until Congress passes the bill to make the change. No, many other countries observe some version of 'summer time,' whether that's daylight saving time or their own version. Not all do so on the same schedule as the U.S., though. In the Southern Hemisphere, for example, the seasons are swapped, so the start and end date of 'summer time' are reversed from ours, according to the Astronomical Applications Department. Some studies suggest that using daylight saving time year-round could reduce the number of traffic accidents and the amount of crime, but a number of experts are against longer days year-round. According to some sleep experts, the sun should reach the highest point in the sky at noon, or solar time, which occurs during standard time. A study from June 2022 found that people whose clock times weren't closely aligned with the sun had 22% higher road fatality rates than those living within 30 minutes of solar time. This article was originally published on
