Will Washington state finally make Daylight Saving Time permanent in 2025? What we know

Is Washington state getting rid of the twice-a-year clock changes that bookend Daylight Saving Time?

Washington is leaning hard into a growing movement to abolish the practice. In fact, Governor Jay Inslee signed legislation in 2019 that could have changed the standard in Washington. Many thought this legislation would finally take effect by 2025.

But alas, the state will continue observing Daylight Saving Time in the new year. Here’s why.

The tradition of Daylight Saving Time

Observation of Daylight Saving Time has been standard across the country since the enactment of the Uniform Time Act of 1966. Time zones had been standardized federally as early as 1883, with the current six time zone standard across the 50 states beginning when Hawai’i became a state, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.

The Uniform Time Act followed the creation of the Department of Transportation, as standardized time systems across the country were a priority for the department. Time zones in the U.S. are a result of necessary improvements in transportation, according to the DOT.

Per the legislation, state governments cannot alter their time zones, or change the dates associated with Daylight Saving Time. States can, however, independently exempt themselves from observing Daylight Saving Time. Currently, all states except Hawai’i and Arizona (except for the Navajo Nation which is partially in Arizona) observe Daylight Saving Time. Numerous U.S. territories have opted out as well.

Because states cannot alter when Daylight Saving Time is in effect, it is not possible for a state to enact permanent Daylight Saving Time. Instead, Hawai’i, Arizona and territories opting out of the practice observe permanent standard time.

Daylight Saving Time in Washington

The U.S. Senate unanimously passed a bill proposing the end of the practice with permanent Daylight Saving Time in 2022, known as the Sunshine Protection Act. However, the bill sat in the U.S. House of Representatives through the end of the legislative session, squashing any hopes of keeping clocks consistent in 2023.

Since then, no legislation regarding Daylight Saving Time has made it through the House of Representatives.

Washington is among a handful of states that passed legislation to immediately make Daylight Saving Time permanent if federal standards are updated. While Governor Inslee signed off on the permanent update in 2019, the practice will continue in the Evergreen State as long as the Sunshine Protection Act is stalled in Congress.

The push to end the time changes follows research into its impacts in the modern day. According to the pre-filed Washington State Senate Bill for 2025, research shows the biannual changes come with increased traffic accidents and crime, negative public health impacts like a widespread decrease in sleep and mental health quality, and disruptions to the agricultural sector and overall economy.

In fact, farmers have long been advocating for the end of the practice, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

“Scientific studies have connected a number of health consequences with the act of switching between standard time and daylight saving time, including greater risks of heart attacks, more frequent workplace injuries, and increased suicide rates in the days immediately after the switch,” states the legislation.

Sunshine Protection Act in 2025

U.S. Senators Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act on Jan. 8, 2025, bringing back the proposal to end the time changes. Permanent Daylight Saving Time would become the standard across the country.

The legislation is supported by the following senators:

• Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.)
• Rand Paul (R-Kan.)
• Ron Wyden (D-Ore.)
• Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.)
• Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.)
• Ed Markey (D-Mass.)
• Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)
• James Lankford (R-Okla.)
• Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.)
• Alex Padilla (D-Calif.)
• Brian Schatz (D-Hawai’i)
• Tina Smith (D-Minn.)
• Katie Britt (R-Ala.)

“Every year, more Americans grow more frustrated setting their clocks back and forth, and every winter folks in Washington state despair at the prospect of losing an hour of precious sunlight when we are forced off Daylight Saving Time,” Senator Murray stated in a press release. “This is about public health, it is about our economy, and it’s about just putting a little more light in families’ lives so they can spend time together, outdoors, in the sunshine.”

Murray referenced the strong bipartisan support across the country for permanent Daylight Saving Time, and said she’ll work with anyone she can to update the federal law.

This story was originally published January 11, 2025 at 5:00 AM.