California lawmakers tried changing daylight saving time before. Can this bill succeed? – NBC 7 San Diego

Daylight saving time is back for spring. On Sunday, March 8 at 2 a.m., everyone in the U.S. (except for Hawaii and Arizona, which opted out) will be moving their clocks forward an hour.

The debate over the time change tradition is contentious. Ask anyone, and you’re likely to get a strong opinion. Recently, there’s been a new push to change daylight saving time both in California and federally. Here’s the latest.

Legislation to put California on standard time all year

States are not allowed to make daylight saving time permanent. But states are allowed to make standard time year-round. That’s what California Republican Sen. Roger Niello intends to do.

After attempting to pass a similar bill previously, Niello introduced another bill in February 2026 that could cement the state in standard time year-round. Senate Bill-1197, if passed, it would eliminate the need for a time change across California. As of March 4, the bill has been introduced and referred to the Committee on Energy, Utilities and Communications. Republican senators Steven Choi and San Diego County’s own Brian Jones are also co-authors of the bill.

Niello previously introduced the similar SB-51, which became stalled in committee and expired with California’s legislative session end in September last year.

Didn’t Californians vote to remove daylight saving time in 2020?

Yes, Californians did. So why are we still changing our clocks then? Residents may remember voting on California’s Proposition 7 in 2018.

That proposition passed by nearly 60% of the vote, giving the California Legislature the ability to change DST, according to Ballotpedia.

Proposition 7 didn’t actually change DST, it just gave the California State Legislature the ability to actually change it, IF they earn a two-thirds majority vote on it (from both the California State Assembly and California State Senate) and then IF the federal government already allows it.

Two bills aiming to change daylight saving time at the federal level

You’ll remember that time in the U.S. is currently split between standard time and DST. Federal legislators have tried nearly every year since 2018 to make DST permanent through such bills as the Sunshine Protection Act. Each time, the bill has not advanced to become law.

The latest iteration of this bill, the Sunshine Protection Act of 2025, was introduced and referred to the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in January 2025. It has not advanced since then.

So there’s the standard time, and daylight saving time — but what about a little bit of both? That’s exactly what Florida Rep. Greg Steube has proposed.

Just last month, Rep. Steube proposed the Daylight Act of 2026 in Congress. If enacted, H.R. 7378 would permanently shift our clocks forward 30 minutes from standard time — and there time would stay. It would eliminate the switch between standard and daylight saving time twice every year.

Can California opt out of daylight saving time?

States are actually allowed to opt out of DST and remain in standard time year-round (as Hawaii and Arizona have done). But, they are not allowed to establish DST year-round, according to the Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Would removing the time change do anything?

Maybe. Maybe not! In the mid-70s, the U.S. had year-round daylight saving time, but that quickly became unpopular and was reversed.

Regardless of time change laws, the earth is still tilted on its axis at an average of 23.5 degrees, according to NOAA. That tilt is responsible for seasonal changes and thus the amount of sunlight you get where you live. Your location on the Earth also affects how much sunlight you’ll get in a year. Generally, the closer you are to the equator, the more sunlight you’ll get throughout the year, NOAA says.

If you REALLY don’t like DST, it might be worth considering moving close to the equator, where seasonal changes have little effect on the length of daylight, according to NOAA.

Where did daylight saving time come from?

Close to the end of World War I, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Standard Time Act into law, putting DST into effect for the first time in the U.S. in March of 1918, according to the Library of Congress. The move was intended to save energy costs during WWI.

About one year later, the law was repealed due to the war’s end.

In World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt instituted a year-round DST in February 1942 he called “war time.” That DST lasted until Sept. 30, 1945.

When the Uniform Time Act was passed in 1966, standard time was mandated across the country within established time zones. However, states could still opt out.

When the 1973 oil embargo hit, America needed to conserve energy. Thus, President Richard Nixon signed year-round DST (the Emergency Daylight Saving Time Energy Conservation Act) into law, hoping to ease the national gas crisis.

Congress enacted a trial period of all-year DST from January 1974 to April 1975.

The time change was unpopular. Eight Florida children died in traffic accidents that were linked to the time change, according to NBC News.

Permanent daylight saving time was reversed in October 1974 by President Gerald Ford.

Needless to say, the debate over DST remains contentious.