After enduring long, dark months — and, in Southern California, midwinter — winter evenings, some residents will rejoice at the extra hour of sunlight that arrives Sunday, while others will mourn their lost hour of sleep.
In general, daylight saving time clock changes twice a year are not popular. Research shows that most Americans want to quit the habit, but they are divided on what schedule to stick to. But for now, Californians will move their clocks forward an hour at 2 a.m. Sunday.
Only 12% of Americans favor sundial tightening, 47% are opposed and 40% are neutral, according to a 2025 study by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
A 2025 Gallup poll found that a majority of Americans say they are ready to end daylight savings time, with 48% favoring standard time year-round and 24% favoring daylight savings year-round.
In 2018, California voters passed Proposition 7, which allows the state to implement permanent daylight saving time if federal law allows. Nineteen states have adopted similar legislation aimed at ending biannual clock changes, but these measures cannot take effect without congressional action.
Over the past decade, dozens of bills have been introduced in Congress seeking to make daylight saving time permanent. However, the law has stalled — largely because lawmakers can’t agree on what should replace the time change.
Many lawmakers support permanent daylight saving time because it gives people a later sunset. Some research suggests that “spring forward” is also associated with credit card spending conflicts.
However, sleep scientists and medical groups often argue in favor of a regular regular time, saying it better matches a person’s rhythm and reduces health risks. Research has linked the March spring season with a temporary increase in traffic accidents, heart attacks and strokes.
Daylight saving time was first enacted by Congress in 1918 as the US entered World War I, only to be repealed two years later.
In 1942, Congress made daylight saving time permanent year-round to conserve fuel during World War II. In 1945, that measure was repealed, and states were allowed to choose how to maintain daylight savings and standard time.
Congress amended the law in 1986 to begin daylight saving time on the first Sunday in April and end on the last Sunday in October. Finally, the Energy Policy Act of 2005 adjusted the timing to make daylight savings time start on the second Sunday in March and end on the first Sunday in November – a schedule that has remained in place ever since.
Even as public frustration over the clock change is high, the issue has repeatedly fallen behind high-profile legislative battles involving the budget, defense, immigration and taxes.
In 2022, the Sunshine Protection Act to make daylight saving time permanent managed to pass the Senate, but later stalled and died in the House.
President Trump in 2025 urged Congress to make daylight saving time permanent, calling the annual clock change a “huge inconvenience” and “too expensive” in a social media statement.
Current federal law doesn’t allow for making daylight savings permanent, but it does allow states to move into regular daylight savings time — something only Arizona and Hawaii do.
California state Sen. Roger Niello (R-Fair Oaks) recently introduced Senate Bill 1197, which would make it regular time year-round in the Golden State. He introduced a similar bill last year, which died on time.
At the federal level, Rep. Gregory W. Steube (R-Florida) is trying a creative approach to pass a time change bill. He introduced HR 7378, which proposes to split the difference by permanently sliding the clocks forward a half hour and stopping the time change twice a year.
Will any of these efforts succeed? Time will tell, but for now Californians — and most of America — are stuck doing the same clock face on Sunday.
