TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WCTV) – A bill working its way through Congress is tantalizingly close to becoming law, and could see Floridians adopt Daylight Saving Time year-round.<\/p>\n
The bill known as the Sunshine Act is co-sponsored by several Florida lawmakers and Florida Senator Rick Scott. It passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a wide margin<\/a>, but faces an unknown fate in the upper chamber. <\/p>\n Disagreement over the proposal doesn\u2019t really follow normal party lines but is largely a matter of geography, U.S. Rep Jimmy Patronis told us.<\/p>\n \u201cThe big positive for Florida is, after all these years I\u2019ve been up here seven and a half years, all these years, we finally got the Sunshine Protection Act passed out of the House,\u201d Scott said.<\/p>\n In general, remaining in Daylight Saving Time year-round would cause the sun to stay up later in the winter, but also rise later in the morning.<\/p>\n According to sunrise and sunset calculators<\/a>, the sun would remain up until after 6:30 p.m. come next January in Florida, instead of setting around 5:45 or 6:00. The sun wouldn\u2019t rise, however, until after 8 a.m. in the winter months.<\/p>\n Florida Politics:<\/p>\n On Thursday, Scott said he\u2019s working with Senate leadership to make sure the Sunshine Protection Act actually gets a vote on the floor. He pointed out that in 2022, the bill actually passed the Senate in unanimous fashion, but at that time, the House didn\u2019t pass the bill. Now, we have the opposite situation.<\/p>\n However, Patronis pointed out that the Sunshine Protection Act has the support of President Donald Trump, who posted about it on Truth Social.<\/p>\n There is a carveout in the bill that a state may exempt itself from permanent Daylight Saving Time. Patronis and Scott said that it is necessary because some Northern and Western states may not want to lock the clock in place.<\/p>\n According to Smithsonian Magazine<\/a>, the U.S. briefly \u201clocked the clock\u201d once before, back in 1974, but it was reversed after Americans expressed \u201cdistaste.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Scott said this time will be different, because each state could make their own decision.<\/p>\n To keep up with the latest news as it develops, follow WCTV on Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, Nextdoor<\/a> <\/a>and X<\/a> (Twitter<\/a>).<\/p>\n Have a news tip or see an error? Write to us here<\/a>. Please include the article\u2019s headline in your message.<\/p>\n Be the first to see all the biggest headlines by downloading the WCTV News app. Click here<\/a> to get started.<\/p>\n Copyright 2026 WCTV. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n