(NEXSTAR) – If you’re tired of early sunsets and dark morning commutes, have no fear: There’s light on the horizon.
Not only does the U.S. gain a massive amount of daylight through January, but we’re getting ever closer to daylight saving time starting again. Luckily for us, our clocks will “spring forward” on the earliest possible date in 2026.
Around this time last year, it seemed that the bi-annual practice of changing our clocks could be coming to an end. There was bipartisan legislation, committee hearings, efforts from multiple states, and even presidential support throughout 2025, only for most of the U.S. to still change its clocks twice.
As of mid-January, the U.S. seems poised to again set clocks ahead an hour in March. This year, we lose an hour of sleep on March 8, the earliest possible day that daylight saving time can begin. (U.S. law mandates the clocks change on the second Sunday of March.)
If several federal lawmakers have their way, this could be the last time our clocks jump ahead.
Two bills in Congress, House and Senate versions of the Sunshine Protection Act, call for permanent daylight saving time in the U.S. The Senate tried last year to fast-track its version of the Sunshine Protection Act in October, only for the effort to be thwarted. At present, online tracking shows those bills remain in committee.
Nearly 20 states have passed legislation to make daylight saving time permanent with federal approval or action. There are states in which year-round daylight saving time could be more enjoyable than others, though health experts believe we should lock our clocks to a different permanent time.
Two House bills, meanwhile, would give states the option to observe year-round daylight saving time. (They can already opt into year-round standard time, as Arizona and Hawaii have.)
It’s unclear whether Congress will pass any of the four daylight saving time bills that have been introduced.
Should Congress enact permanent daylight saving time, we may not have to change our clocks again after March. If no action is taken, however, our clocks will fall back on November 1 — also the earliest possible date on which daylight saving time can end.