Why does the U.S. still have Daylight Saving Time?
Daylight Saving Time continues to be a topic of debate in the United States, with millions adjusting their clocks twice a year.
New Jersey legislature advanced bills in November 2025 to make daylight saving time permanent, year-round. Nineteen states, not including New Jersey, have passed legislation or resolutions in favor of year-round daylight saving time, including neighboring Delaware.
Currently, states can opt out of switching to daylight saving time and observe standard time year-round. The switch to permanent daylight saving time first requires federal approval.
In the meantime, all states except Arizona and Hawaii, will be setting their clocks ahead in March for daylight savings time. Here’s when to set the clocks forward for the 2026 time change and daylight saving time start and end.
Many countries around the world and most of the United States still observe the practice of turning the clocks forward or backward an hour, in the effort to extend daylight hours seasonally, though some argue the practice should be brought to an end.
Last year, President Donald Trump urged Congress to make daylight saving time permanent, writing in a Truth Social post, “The House and Senate should push hard for more Daylight at the end of a day. Very popular and, most importantly, no more changing of the clocks, a big inconvenience and, for our government, A VERY COSTLY EVENT!!!”
However, that April post followed a Trump post in December 2024 saying he would work to end daylight saving time and make standard time permanent. And in between those posts, in March, he called the issue “50/50,” noting that some people prefer permanent daylight saving time while others prefer permanent standard time.
The difference is daylight saving time would mean later sunrises and sunsets, allowing for more time for outdoor activities after work in the evenings, whereas standard time would mean earlier sunrises and sunsets, which some argue increase safety in the mornings for school children and is more in line with our biological circadian rhythms, according to savestandardtime.
Daylight saving time is approximately eight months, starting on the second Sunday of March and ending on the first Sunday of November.
When is daylight saving time 2026 start and end?
Daylight saving time begins at 2 a.m. on Sunday, March 8, 2026, at which time clocks “spring forward” and reset to 3 a.m. and it ends 2 a.m. on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026 at which time clocks “fall back” and reset to 1 a.m.
When do clocks spring forward for 2026 time change?
The clocks will spring forward one hour at 2 a.m. on Sunday morning March 8, 2026. Clocks can be changed on Saturday night before bedtime or upon waking on Sunday morning, at which time you will have lost one hour.
Will we lose an hour or gain an hour for daylight saving time? Spring forward
In the spring, clocks spring forward one hour. You will have lost an hour when you awake that morning.
In the fall, clocks fall back one hour. You will gain an extra hour of potential sleep or play.
When does daylight savings time end in 2026?
Daylight saving time ends on the first Sunday of November each year. This year the clocks will fall back an hour on Sunday, Nov. 1.
When is the first day of spring? Spring equinox 2026
The first day of spring or spring equinox in the Northern Hemisphere will occur on Friday, March 20, 2026 at 10:46 a.m. ET.
The spring equinox, also known as the vernal equinox, is the moment when the sun crosses the celestial equator, marking the start of astronomical spring in the Northern Hemisphere, resulting in nearly equal hours of day and night globally due to the Earth’s axial tilt.
Why do we change the clocks every year?
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the idea behind daylight saving time was meant to give us more daylight during the summer evenings and then move it back to give us more daylight during winter mornings.
Is daylight saving time permanent or ending?
Daylight saving has not been made permanent, nor is it ending as of yet, although the push to make it permanent has been reintroduced multiple times as the Sunshine Protection Act. This would establish permanent DST across the country, extending daylight saving time from eight months of the year to the full year.
The Sunshine Protection Act passed the senate in 2022 but stalled in the House. It was reintroduced in 2025 but has not passed.
Pennsylvania legislature introduced a bill in 2023 to establish year-round daylight saving time but it never passed. More recently in March, they passed a Senate resolution calling on the U.S. Congress to end the outdated practice of changing the clocks twice a year. They are one of 29 states thus far, that have introduced legislation to stop the clock changes.
Maria Francis is a Pennsylvania-based reporter with the Mid-Atlantic Connect Team.
