Texas is ‘This Close’ To Keeping Daylight Saving Time for Good

Sunday, March 10 at 2 a.m., Daylight Saving Time starts. Texans will once again go through the routine of 'springing forward' an hour.

It'll be darker as you're getting ready for work or school in the morning, but we'll have sunshine later in the evening. Then, as summer rolls around, we'll get to enjoy days that will have nearly 15 hours of daylight.

But Then, November 3

That's the day we fall back an hour in 2024. That's when we drive home from work with the headlights on. That's when it feels like we should be in bed by 7:30.

It's a cycle of flipping times that Texans have been doing for many decades, but, recently, there has been a push to stop this yo-yo timing. In many statewide opinion polls, most Texans would like to keep Daylight Saving hours throughout the year...it seems, the Texas House of Representatives wants to as well.

The Texas House Votes to Permanently Stay on Daylight Saving Time

In April 2023, In House Bill 1422, by a vote of 138-5, the Texas Legislature said goodbye to changing your clocks twice a year.

Governor Greg Abbott has made it no secret that he would quickly sign that bill into law. So, if the House says yes, and the big man on campus says yes, are we almost done with trying to figure out how to reset our microwave clock twice a year?

Changing Daylight Saving Is Not That Easy

First of all, the Texas Senate never brought the bill into committee and therefore, never voted on it.

But, even if the Senate approves and Governor Abbott signs the bill into law, there are more hurdles to climb on the federal level. You see, federal law prohibits states from observing Daylight Saving Time all 12 months of the year.

What About Hawaii & Arizona, They Don't Change Their Times.

Correct. That's because the Feds say it's okay to have a state law to stay on standard time, but not one to stay on Daylight Saving Time.

You can still fry an egg on an Arizona sidewalk during the evening hours, so why add an extra hour of daylight? Meanwhile, Hawaii is close enough to the equator that adding an extra hour doesn't make much difference to their total daily sunlight.

What's the Next Step for Texas?

If Lone Star lawmakers do get around to passing a law to stay permanently on Daylight Savings, Texas will be one of nearly 20 states that have done the same.

That's pretty much the same as the class asking the teacher for no homework for a month. You've got the votes, but not the permission.

It would take enacting a new federal law to make this wanted change possible. US Senator Marco Rubio has introduced and reintroduced a law to make Daylight Saving permanent, but still, here we are.

So, on Sunday, March 10, re-educate yourself on changing the clocks in your car and rejoice