Daylight saving time starts at 2:00 am on Sunday, March 8, 2025, which means it’s time to ‘spring forward.’
The U.S. first adopted daylight saving time in 1918 to save oil and electricity during World War I, reports nbcnews. But now, this isn’t the case.
A 2011 study found that daylight saving actually cost Indiana households an extra $9 million per year in electricity bills because they spent more on heating and cooling, even though people used lights less, adds nbcnews.
Hawaii and most of Arizona are the only states that do not ‘spring forward’ or ‘fall back.’ Other U.S. territories, like Puerto Rico, follow permanent standard time also.
The Latest on the Daylight Saving Legislation
Will this be the last year we ‘spring forward’ and ‘fall back’? Lawmakers have pushed for several years to put an end to the bi-annual changing of the clocks.
“In the last seven years, 19 states have enacted legislation to provide for year-round daylight saving time, if Congress were to allow such a change and, in some cases, if surrounding states enact the same legislation. Because federal law does not currently allow full-time DST, Congress would have to act before states could adopt changes.” reports ncsl.org.
Tennessee’s House and Senate passed H.B. 247 and Governor Bill Lee signed the bill on May 8, 2019. H.B. 247 would establish “daylight saving time as the standard time in Tennessee,” subject to authorization to do so from the U.S. Congress.
Congress must approve the switch to permanent Daylight Saving Time (DST), but states do not need federal approval to switch to permanent standard time.
DST means more light in the evenings and permanent standard time means more light in the mornings.
A year later on March 2, 2023, Senator Marco Rubio reintroduced the bill that would make Daylight Saving Time permanent, stating that the ‘ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid.’
In January of 2025, Senator Rick Scott introduced the bipartisan Sunshine Protection Act, to officially “lock the clock” and end the twice-yearly time change and make Daylight Saving Time the national year-round standard. And, in 2026, 16 states (including Tennessee) have introduced 23 bills related to daylight savings and standard time.
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