Congress locks America into permanent daylight time, overriding state autonomy.

What it does

This bill makes daylight saving time permanent nationwide by repealing the temporary daylight saving period established in 1966 and amending the 1918 Calder Act to shift all U.S. time zones one hour forward. States that previously opted out of daylight saving time may choose to remain on standard time or adopt the new permanent daylight time. The practical effect: Americans would no longer 'fall back' in autumn; clocks would stay on daylight time year-round.

Why we flagged it

The bill's sole operative function is to make daylight saving time permanent by repealing the temporary daylight saving provision and advancing time zones. It is a straightforward temporal/regulatory measure with no hidden financial or corporate carve-outs.

What the text implies

• States that previously exempted themselves from daylight saving (e.g., Hawaii, most of Arizona) retain the option to stay on standard time, but the bill's default is permanent daylight time — a shift in the baseline that may require affirmative state action to preserve prior exemptions.
• The bill does not address federal Indian reservations or U.S. territories, which have separate time-zone authority; implementation may create patchwork compliance and confusion at borders.
• Morning darkness in winter months (especially in northern states) may increase school-commute safety risks and affect circadian alignment, but the bill contains no study, transition period, or harm-mitigation provisions.
• The amendment to the Calder Act's time-zone offsets (striking and replacing hour values) is technically complex and relies on correct cross-referencing; a drafting error in the hour substitutions could create unintended time-zone misalignments.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Permanent daylight time eliminates twice-yearly clock disruptions, which research suggests may reduce sleep disruption and accident rates — a modest public health benefit. However, the bill overrides state and local time-zone autonomy that existed under prior law, and shifts morning darkness earlier in winter months, potentially affecting school commute safety and circadian rhythm alignment in northern states. The net civic effect depends on empirical outcomes (sleep, accidents, productivity) th

Named in the bill

House of Representatives, Uniform Time Act of 1966, Calder Act (Act of March 19, 1918), U.S. time zones, States with daylight saving exemptions

Where it stands

34 cosponsors: 31 Republicans, 3 Democrats.

• Jan 3, 2025 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
• Jan 3, 2025 — Referred to House Committee on Energy and Commerce and Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce”
• Jul 14, 2026 — Passed the House · Congress.gov: “On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 308 - 117 (Roll no. 238)”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.

Money around this bill

5 lobbying clients named this bill on 9 disclosure filings across 2 quarters, Dec 2025 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $9,192,475 in lobbying spend. A filing names 17 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.

More lobbying clients named this bill than 78% of bills with at least one filing.

Vern Buchanan, the sponsor, reported $544,700 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.

• National Association of Broadcasters — $5,600,000 on 2 filings
• Real Estate Roundtable — $2,486,717 on 2 filings
• National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies — $1,005,758 on 2 filings
• Salem Media Group — $70,000 on 2 filings
• Professional Golfers' Association of America — $30,000 on 1 filing

Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 20, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.