What is ‘half-daylight saving time’? See what this bill proposes.
What is ‘half-daylight saving time’? See what this bill proposes.
Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA TODAYThu, February 19, 2026 at 11:26 PM UTC
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It's no secret that changing the clocks twice a year isn't exactly popular. From bleary-eyed parents to confused pets, social media timelines and in-person discussions revolve around complaints about daylight saving time (DST), regardless of whether it's beginning or ending.
Bills and ideas to remedy the situation have been repeatedly pitched and stalled over the century that daylight saving time has been in practice in the United States.
The latest attempt comes from Rep. Greg Steube, R-Florida, in the form of The Daylight Act of 2026. Introduced to Congress earlier this month, the bill proposes doing away with daylight saving as we know it and splitting the difference. Instead of a twice-yearly change of one hour each time, it would shift U.S. time zones forward 30 minutes from the current standard time and leave them there permanently.
"Twice every year, Floridians deal with the hassle of changing the clocks. We all know there’s a better way. Making Daylight Saving Time permanent would improve road safety, reduce crime, and boost the economy," Steube said in a 2025 post to X, formerly Twitter. "I led the charge for this in Florida in 2018. It’s time to end this pointless ritual and make DST permanent!”
Here's what to know about the bill.
What is daylight saving time? Why do we have it?
Daylight saving time was first introduced in the United States during World War I to make better use of natural daylight. It entails setting the clocks forward one hour during part of the year: in the Northern Hemisphere, that's currently between the second Sunday in March and the first Sunday in November.
While the idea was first floated in an essay by Benjamin Franklin in 1784, it wasn't adopted in the United States (and other countries, including Australia, Great Britain and Germany) until WWI necessitated the conservation of fuel used for artificial lighting, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
The Uniform Time Act of 1966 made daylight saving a uniform, federal matter. Previously, the Standard Time Act of 1918 had established time zones but left the timing of DST to the states, some of which weren't consistent even within states themselves, according to National Geographic.
Subsequent laws and amendments changed the start and end times of DST until the current dates were established in 2007. In Western European countries, DST generally starts on the last Sunday in March and ends on the last Sunday in October, according to Britannica.
The Daylight Act of 2026 could change daylight saving time as we know it in the U.S.What is the Daylight Act of 2026?
The Daylight Act of 2026 would repeal daylight saving time and readjust the country's time zones as defined in the Standard Time Act of 1918, often called the Calder Act.
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The Calder Act divided the continental United States into five time zones, created by the Interstate Commerce Commission to match zones previously established by the national railroad system. It was later expanded to encompass nine time zones, all defined by their difference from the global Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). Eastern time zone is five hours behind UTC, for example.
Under the Daylight Act, the time zone UTC offsets would be changed to half-hour increments rather than hours. Each time zone would move forward 30 minutes. Eastern time would then be 4.5 hours behind UTC, instead of five.
The Daylight Act of 2026 was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on Feb. 4 but has not yet moved forward. It is accompanied by a reintroduction of the Daylight Act by Rep. Celeste Maloy, R-Utah, which would allow states to decide if they want observe DST.
If passed by Congress, the time change would kick in 90 days after President Donald Trump signs it into law.
Most Americans want to say goodbye to daylight saving time
Polls have shown that the majority of Americans are on board with changing DST. A 2023 YouGov poll found that 62% of respondents agreed that they want to stop changing the clocks twice yearly. A 2025 Gallup poll found that 54% of Americans also wanted to see the demise of DST; however, 48% preferred standard time all year, while 24% wanted permanent daylight saving time.
The Daylight Act of 2026 is far from the first, or only, to propose a change to DST. In fact, the daylight saving provision was repealed from the Standard Time Act of 1918 just a year after implementation, thanks to public complaints, according to the Congress Project.
Last year, Florida attempted push through the Sunshine Protection Act to make DST permanent, though it ultimately stalled in Congress. Several states have introduced bills just this year to address DST in various forms.
Two states, Hawaii and Arizona (except the Navajo Nation), already observe standard time year-round.
Contributing: C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What to know about the Daylight Act of 2026, half-daylight saving time
Source: “AOL Breaking”
