Florida, along with 18 other states, has passed legislation in recent years to adopt permanent daylight saving time, but federal approval is required for such a change.

The annual ritual of adjusting clocks for daylight saving time occurs in November and March, often met with frustration from many Americans.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Florida is among 19 states that have legislated for permanent daylight saving time over the last five years. In 2024, at least 30 states were either considering or had considered bills related to daylight saving time.

However, any shift to permanent daylight saving time needs Congressional approval.

On Thursday, Florida Senator Rick Scott introduced a bipartisan bill aiming to “lock the clock” and end the practice of changing times twice a year.

“I hear from Americans constantly that they are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year – it’s an unnecessary, decades-old practice that’s more of an annoyance to families than benefit to them,” Scott stated. “I’m excited to have President Trump back in the White House and fully on board to LOCK THE CLOCK so we can get this good bill passed and make this common-sense change that will simplify and benefit the lives of American families.”

President-elect Trump has voiced support for the DST initiative. In a December post on his social media platform, he indicated that his party would attempt to abolish daylight saving time upon his return to office.

“The Republican Party will use its best efforts to eliminate Daylight Saving Time, which has a small but strong constituency, but shouldn’t! Daylight Saving Time is inconvenient, and very costly to our Nation,” Trump wrote.

The bill, backed by a bipartisan group of 14 senators, argues that ending the time changes would benefit farmers, reduce health risks, enhance safety in neighborhoods, stimulate economic growth, and lower electricity costs.

This isn’t the first attempt by Congress or Florida to end seasonal time changes. In 2018, Florida passed a law to make daylight saving time permanent, which lacked federal follow-through. In 2023, Senator Marco Rubio introduced a similar bill in the Senate, matched by Representative Vern Buchanan in the House, but these efforts did not succeed.

With the new year and a new Congress, there’s renewed hope that this bill might finally pass. Until then, set your reminders for March 9, when we’ll “spring forward” again.

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