Florida daylight saving time still shifts twice a year, and it will keep doing so until Congress changes federal law. The state passed the Sunshine Protection Act in 2018 declaring its intent to stay on daylight saving time year-round, but that law is conditional: it only takes effect if Washington authorizes states to do so. As of 2026, no such authorization exists, and no vote is imminent.
What Florida’s 2018 Law Actually Does
Florida Statute 1.025 does not move any clocks. It states that if Congress amends federal law to permit year-round daylight saving time, Florida will adopt it statewide across every county and political subdivision.1Florida Senate. Florida Statutes Chapter 1 Section 025 Until then, the law sits dormant. Clocks in the state continue to spring forward on the second Sunday in March and fall back on the first Sunday in November, exactly as they did before 2018.
Why Florida Can’t Do This on Its Own
The obstacle is 15 U.S.C. § 260a, part of the Uniform Time Act. Under that statute, states have two options: observe daylight saving time on the federal schedule, or opt out entirely and stay on standard time all year. Arizona and Hawaii chose the second option. What the statute does not offer is a third path: staying on daylight saving time year-round.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 260a – Advancement of Time or Changeover Dates
A state can fall back permanently. It cannot spring forward permanently. Only Congress can create that option by amending the Uniform Time Act.
Where the Federal Bill Stands in 2026
The federal Sunshine Protection Act has been introduced repeatedly. In March 2022, the U.S. Senate passed a version by unanimous consent, but the House never took it up and the bill expired at the end of that Congress.3Congress.gov. S.623 – 117th Congress (2021-2022) Sunshine Protection Act of 2021
Sponsors reintroduced the bill in January 2025. The Senate version, S.29, was referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.4Congress.gov. S.29 – 119th Congress (2025-2026) Sunshine Protection Act of 2025 The companion H.R. 139 went to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Neither has moved beyond committee referral. Roughly 19 states now have laws or resolutions like Florida’s on the books, all waiting on the same federal action.
Why Congress Keeps Hesitating
The country tried permanent daylight saving time once, during the 1974 energy crisis. Congress passed a two-year experiment and repealed it before the two years were up. Public opinion turned quickly, driven largely by parents whose children were walking to school and waiting for buses in complete darkness on winter mornings. The projected energy savings did not appear.
That history still weighs on the debate. In much of the country, permanent daylight saving time would push winter sunrise past 8 a.m. Florida’s geography softens that effect, but Congress has to write a bill that works from Miami to Minneapolis.
Sleep researchers have added another obstacle. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine, the American Medical Association, and the National Sleep Foundation have all endorsed permanent standard time instead, arguing that morning sunlight is what keeps the body’s internal clock aligned. Both sides agree that switching twice a year is the worst option, with documented spikes in heart attacks and traffic crashes after the spring change. But the split between medical groups favoring standard time and state legislatures favoring daylight time has muddied the political case for either fix.
What Would Change in Florida if the Federal Bill Passes
If Congress ever authorizes it, Florida would lock onto Eastern Daylight Time year-round. Winter mornings would get darker. Tampa currently sees sunrise around 7:15 a.m. on the shortest days of the year; under permanent daylight saving time that would shift to roughly 8:15 a.m. Sunsets would move to after 6 p.m. even in late December.
The Panhandle, which sits in the Central time zone, would stay on Central Daylight Time year-round. Sunrise in Pensacola on the darkest winter mornings would push past 7:45 a.m.5Time and Date. Time Zones in Florida
The One Change Florida Could Make Right Now
Florida could end the twice-yearly clock change tomorrow by choosing permanent standard time. That option is already available to any state under the Uniform Time Act, no act of Congress required.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 260a – Advancement of Time or Changeover Dates The trade-off is the mirror image of what the Sunshine Protection Act promises: winter mornings stay bright, but summer sunsets arrive an hour earlier than Floridians are used to. Arizona took this route decades ago.
Florida’s legislature has shown no interest in it. The political preference in Tallahassee is clearly for later sunsets, not earlier ones, which is why the state is waiting on Congress rather than acting on the option it already has.