Clocks fall back Sunday; bill to end the switch awaits Senate

SAN JOSE - Daylight saving time ends at 2 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 1, when clocks fall back one hour, under the federal schedule described by the Congressional Research Service.  In San Jose, sunset moves from 6:10 p.m. Saturday to 5:09 p.m. Sunday, and sunrise from 7:31 a.m. to 6:32 a.m., according to timeanddate.com.  By Nov. 30, the sun sets at 4:50 p.m.  Clocks spring forward again on March 14, 2027.

How the switch began

Congress first set clocks ahead in 1918 to save fuel in World War I, then repealed the rule in 1919 over President Woodrow Wilson's veto, the CRS report says.  Year-round "War Time" ran from 1942 to 1945.  The Uniform Time Act of 1966 set national start and end dates.  States may opt out and stay on standard time all year, as Hawaii and most of Arizona do, but they cannot stay on daylight time all year without Congress.  The current calendar, from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November, dates to a 2005 energy law.

The country tried year-round daylight time once before.  After the 1973 oil embargo, it started in January 1974, and Congress ended the trial that October.

How it could go away

The U.S. House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, H.R. 139, 308-117 on July 14, 2026, the House Clerk's roll call shows.  Republicans voted 193-22 and Democrats 114-95.  The bill, by Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., would make daylight time the new standard time all year.  Only states already exempt, such as Arizona and Hawaii, could choose their own time, under the bill text.  It went to the Senate Commerce Committee on July 15, where the Senate version, S. 29 by Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has stayed since 2025.

The White House said the day of the House vote that the administration "strongly supports passage" and that advisers would recommend the president sign it.  On Aug. 4, President Donald Trump asked Republican senators to drop their holds on the bill.

"People are sick and tired of having to change their clocks twice a year."  - President Donald Trump, Truth Social post, Aug. 4, 2026

A competing House bill, H.R. 9638, would instead make standard time permanent, the CRS says.

What it means for California

California voters passed Proposition 7 in 2018 with 59.7% of the vote, and Santa Clara County voters backed it 58.8%, the Secretary of State's results show.  It lets the Legislature adopt year-round daylight time by a two-thirds vote if federal law allows it.  A 2019 bill to do that passed the Assembly 72-8 but died in the Senate, the CRS report says.

Later bills went the other way.  State Sen. Roger Niello, a Republican, sought permanent standard time in SB 51 in 2025 and SB 1197 in 2026.  Both stalled in the Senate Appropriations Committee, legislative records show.

Nineteen states have passed laws for year-round daylight time that take effect only if Congress allows it, including Oregon and Washington, the CRS says.  No state has passed permanent standard time.  British Columbia will not fall back this weekend.  It adopted year-round daylight time after March 8, its government said.

Arguments for and against

Supporters of more evening light point to safety and the economy.  The White House statement says year-round daylight time would add about 20 minutes of daylight to the waking day, prevent hundreds of traffic deaths and cut robberies 7%.  Golf courses and open-air malls are among its backers, Stanford researcher Jamie Zeitzer has said.

Sleep doctors favor standard time, which keeps mornings brighter.  The American Academy of Sleep Medicine urged the Senate to reject the House bill.  A 2025 Stanford Medicine study estimated that permanent standard time would mean about 300,000 fewer strokes and 2.6 million fewer people with obesity nationwide.  Permanent daylight time would bring about two-thirds of that benefit.

"We found that staying in standard time or staying in daylight saving time is definitely better than switching twice a year."  - Jamie Zeitzer, professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Stanford Medicine

Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., blocked a bid to pass the Senate bill without a vote in October 2025.  He said on the Senate floor that permanent daylight time would "again make winter a dark and dismal time for millions of Americans."

Energy savings are small.  A 2008 Energy Department study found the longer daylight calendar cut electricity use by 0.03%, the CRS says.

What the public says

Most Americans want to stop switching but split on which time to keep.  A January 2025 Gallup poll found 48% favor standard time all year, 24% daylight time all year and 19% the current system.  An October 2025 AP-NORC poll found 12% favor the current system, 56% prefer year-round daylight time and 42% year-round standard time.

How to adjust

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine recommends these steps:

• Get at least seven hours of sleep before and after the change.
• Shift bedtime, meals and exercise slightly later in the days before.
• Set clocks back Saturday evening and go to bed at your usual time.
• Wake at the same time every day, including weekends.
• Get outside for morning sunlight in the days after.
• Avoid extra caffeine late in the day.
• Give children more time to adjust, and keep bedtime routines steady.

Source:  CRS report R45208; H.R. 139 actions; House roll call 238; Statement of Administration Policy, July 14, 2026; Congressional Record, Oct. 28, 2025; California Statement of Vote, 2018; SB 1197 history; B.C. government release; AASM release; Stanford Medicine; Gallup; AP-NORC; timeanddate.com, San Jose