Last Updated on May 28, 2026 4:49 pm
A bill that would end the twice-yearly clock change and lock the United States on permanent daylight saving time is moving closer to a full House vote, with 19 states — including North Carolina — already positioned to follow if Congress acts.
The Sunshine Protection Act, introduced by Florida Republican Rep. Vern Buchanan, was folded into a broader transportation funding package last week and cleared the House Energy and Commerce Committee 48-1, sending it to the full House floor for consideration.
President Trump has publicly backed the effort, saying after the committee vote that he would “work very hard” to see the Sunshine Protection Act become law.
If passed and signed, the legislation would eliminate the “fall back” clock change in November, keeping the country on daylight saving time year-round. The practical effect: winter sunsets across much of the country would shift to after 5 p.m., though sunrises in many areas would not occur until after 8 a.m. — and in some locations, after 9 a.m.
Nineteen states have already passed laws to adopt permanent daylight saving time but cannot act without federal authorization. Maine and Texas joined the group last year. Florida was the first state to enact such legislation, back in 2018.
North Carolina has competing bills in the General Assembly — one calling for permanent standard time and one for permanent daylight saving time, the latter contingent on federal action. In 2023, the NC House passed a permanent DST bill with roughly an 80 percent majority.
A separate measure, the Daylight Act of 2026, would take a middle-ground approach — moving clocks forward a half-hour permanently rather than a full hour. That bill remains in the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The Sunshine Protection Act still faces a full House vote and would then need to clear the Senate before reaching the president's desk. An AP-NORC poll from October 2025 found that nearly half of Americans oppose changing clocks twice a year, with only 12 percent in favor of keeping the practice.
