Daylight saving time in the United States

With a mnemonic word play referring to seasons, clocks "spring forward, fall back"—that is, in springtime the clocks are moved forward from 2:00 a.m. to 3:00 a.m. and in fall they are moved back from 2:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Daylight saving time lasts for a total of 34 weeks (238 days) every year, about 65% of the entire year.

In 2022, the United States Senate passed the Sunshine Protection Act which would have permanently activated daylight saving time, but it did not become law, because it was not approved by the U.S. House of Representatives.

[5] During World War I, in an effort to conserve fuel, Germany began observing DST on May 1, 1916, and the rest of Europe soon followed.

[7] The idea was unpopular, especially with farmers because DST meant they had less time in the morning to get their milk and harvested crops to market.

[11] From 1945 to 1966 there was no federal law on daylight saving time, so localities could choose when it began and ended or drop it entirely.

A complicated patchwork of daylight saving policies that varied in length and by city, state, and municipality emerged.

Meanwhile, portions of North Dakota and Texas observed a sort of "reverse" daylight saving time, essentially setting their clocks back an hour rather than moving them forward.

If a state chose to observe DST, the time changes were required to begin and end on the established dates.

[11] During the 1973 oil embargo by the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), in an effort to conserve fuel, Congress enacted a trial period of year-round DST (P.L.

[17] After several morning traffic accidents involving schoolchildren in Florida, including eight children who were killed, Governor Reubin Askew asked for the year-round law to be repealed.

When this data was compared between 1973 and 1974 for the months of March and April, no significant difference was found in fatalities among school-age children in the mornings.

By the Energy Policy Act of 2005, daylight saving time (DST) was extended in the United States beginning in 2007.

[23] Under Section 110 of the act, the U.S. Department of Energy was required to study the impact of the 2007 DST extension no later than nine months after the change took effect.

[27] Wyoming senator Michael Enzi and Michigan representative Fred Upton advocated the extension from October into November especially to allow children to go trick-or-treating in more daylight.

[30] The main argument for introducing year-round DST is that the lifestyles and work patterns of modern-day citizens are no longer compatible with the concept of shifting the clock every spring and fall.

Supporters also argue that switching to ''Forward Time'' would also result in saving energy by reducing the need for artificial light.

This would mean that Nevada (except West Wendover) would officially be on the same time as most of Arizona all year, and would be an hour ahead of California in the winter.

[26][34] In November 2018, voters in California ratified a legislative plan which would allow for year-round daylight saving time to be enacted.

The bill passed,[40] and was followed by proposed 2021 ballot initiative 1803, "Abolish Daylight Savings Time in Washington state" to petition the U.S. Congress to authorize the change.

[41] Tennessee and Oregon also passed bills in 2019 for year-round DST,[42][43] and legislative houses in Alabama and Arkansas also approved resolutions in favor.

[46] Georgia Governor Brian P. Kemp signed Senate Bill 100 providing for year-round Daylight Saving time when the United States Congress amends 15 U.S.C.

The convenience of commerce is defined broadly to consider such circumstances as the shipment of goods within the community; the origin of television and radio broadcasts; the areas where most residents work, attend school, worship, or receive health care; the location of airports, railway, and bus stations; and the major elements of the community's economy.

[11] Under the Uniform Time Act, moving an area on or off DST is accomplished through legal action at the state level.

Arizona observed DST in 1967 under the Uniform Time Act because the state legislature did not enact an exemption statute that year.

Phoenix and Tucson are among the hottest U.S. metropolitan areas during the summer, resulting in more power usage from air conditioning units and evaporative coolers in homes and businesses.

[54] The Navajo Indian Reservation extends into Utah and New Mexico and observes daylight saving time to coordinate tribal affairs.

Daylight saving time is less useful in Florida than in other states because its southern location leads to less variation in day length between winter and summer.

[61] However, in 2018, over 90% of the legislature voted for, and the governor approved, the Sunshine Protection Act[62] to observe daylight saving time year-round if the U.S. Congress authorized states to do so.

Only the Upper Peninsula counties that border Wisconsin (Gogebic, Iron, Dickinson, and Menominee) are in the Central Time Zone.

While neighboring Samoa began observing DST in September 2010, the smaller American Samoa, likewise located in the Southern Hemisphere, cannot sensibly follow because of the March-to-November DST observation period mandated by the Uniform Time Act, which is inapplicable to the Southern Hemisphere as this period corresponds to wintertime.