"Let the Sunshine In"

On Sunday 8 March 2026, “a day that shall live in infamy,” we will again be required to change our clocks and observe daylight saving time.  There are bills before the Senate and House of Representatives that are referred to as the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, (SB29 and HR139), which would make the change to daylight saving time permanent.  If passed by congress and signed by the president, there would be no further requirement to switch from daylight saving time to standard time.  Although it would be preferable to make standard time permanent, rather than daylight saving time, these bills are better than ongoing time change requirements. 

Over the years there have been multiple legislative efforts at the federal and state level to deal with the time change requirements.  Arizona and Hawaii do not observe daylight saving time.  Since 1966, daylight saving time has been protected by federal law, but the law does not prohibit the states from choosing to remain on permanent standard time.  A previous federal attempt to impose daylight saving time only was repealed because the people did not like it. 

Other legislation is now pending that would leave the time change requirements up to the individual states.  Although this legislation may be more consistent with the 10th Amendment, it would be detrimental to the conduct of business and travel, and the results would be chaotic.  Furthermore, it would cause the negative impact of time change requirements to be year around, rather than semi-annual. 

Therefore, since Article I, Section VIII gives congress the authority to regulate foreign and domestic commerce, and the impact of the individual states setting their own time change rules would negatively impact both, Article I, Section VIII may take precedence.  In short, deferring the issue to the individual states does not solve the problem, it makes it worse. 

 Although I prefer permanent standard time, observing permanent daylight saving time is better than dealing with semi-annual time changes.  If you agree, please write, email, or call your senators and congressional representatives and urge them to approve one or the other. Many health experts have said that the time changes are unhealthy.  It would be an act of mercy for congress to eliminate them.