CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WBTV) - Daylight saving time ends this weekend, meaning clocks will fall back even after the House passed the “Sunshine Protection Act” earlier this year to keep daylight saving time permanent.
Permanent daylight saving time is not happening because the bill is still in the Senate. Senators would have to pass the bill before it could be signed into law, but it’s unclear if it will do so.
Daylight saving time is the period between spring and fall when clocks in most parts of the United States are set one hour ahead of standard time.
The House passed a bill called the “Sunshine Protection Act” back in July that would keep daylight saving time permanent. The bill passed with a 308-117 vote.
Included in the bill was the option for states to opt out if their respective legislatures act to do so before the change happens.
If the bill is signed into law, it will change sunrise and sunset times in the winter, when daylight saving time ends.
For the Charlotte area, staying on daylight saving time would mean sunrise and sunset times would be an hour later in the winter. That means the earliest sunrise would be 8:32 a.m. and the earliest sunset at 6:10 p.m.
For the Charlotte area, if daylight saving time were eliminated and we stayed on standard time, sunrise and sunset times would be what is normally seen in the winter, with the earliest sunrise at 7:32 a.m. and the earliest sunset at 5:10 p.m. In the summer, the earliest sunrise would be 5:11 a.m., and the earliest sunset would be 7:42 p.m.
Those in favor of ending clock changes, including the White House, said the change would provide more daylight during the times when Americans are outside most.
Those who oppose the law said permanent daylight saving time would lead to darker and potentially more hazardous winter mornings where children will be waiting for school buses, and parents will be driving to work in darkness.
A 2025 poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research details what Americans would prefer. Just over half of adults would prefer making daylight saving time permanent, meaning the sun coming up later in the morning but also setting later in the evening. Just under half would prefer standard time, which means an early sunrise and early sunset.
The White House weighed in before the House vote, calling the “Sunshine Protection Act” a popular, common-sense reform and saying advisers will recommend the president sign the bill if it reaches his desk.