Is Texas still turning clocks back for daylight saving time? Didn’t Congress vote it away?

Pretty soon North Texans will wind back their clocks an hour as daylight saving time ends.

At 2 a.m. on Nov. 5, Texans will gain an hour of sleep as clocks fall back an hour. The winding of the clock each year starts on the second Sunday in March and ends the first Sunday in November.

There’s been a push to end daylight saving time in the United States, however, there is still no nationwide law in place as of this fall. Here’s what we know about why the practice was started:

What is daylight saving time?

It’s more than just turning the clock forward and backward.

Daylight saving time is the method of moving the clocks forward one hour from standard time during the summer months and changing it back in the fall, according to the Old Farmers Almanac.

The central idea behind the change is that it gives people more time in the daylight over the spring and summer periods. The opposite is the case after daylight saving time changes, granting people more daylight in the morning over fall and winter.

Why was daylight saving time started?

We can thank World War I for the origin of the practice.

In 1916, Germany decided to implement the first daylight saving time to maximize its usage of resources during sunlit hours. The United State followed suit two years later in 1918, adopting the seasonal time shift, according to National Geographic.

Is it ‘daylight saving’ or ‘daylight savings’?

The seasonal time shift is commonly said both ways, but only one is technically correct.

“Daylight saving time” is the correct version, since it means that the practice is saving daylight, according to Thesaurus.com. While the plural form of “savings” is more attributed to that of a savings bank account.

Are there states that do not observe daylight saving time?

Yes, Arizona and Hawaii do not observe the seasonal time shift.

Hawaii opted out of the Uniform Time Act in 1967, because of its proximity to the equator and how the sun rises and sets at the same time everyday, according to Time.

Arizona followed suit a year later in 1968, opting out of the act due to how much sunshine the state gets. If Arizona was to set its clock an hour ahead, sunlight would last until 9 p.m., according to the Arizona Republic.

What states want daylight saving time to stay all year round?

In total, there are 19 states that have enacted legislation in favor of year-round daylight saving time, pending congressional approval.

These states are: Alabama, Georgia, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Idaho, Louisiana, Ohio, South Carolina, Utah, Wyoming, Delaware, Maine, Oregon, Tennessee, Washington, Florida, California and Colorado.

Massachusetts and Maine have commissioned studies on a full-time daylight saving time, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Congress would have to approve the time changes before any of the states could use daylight saving time year-round.

What is the Sunshine Protection Act of 2021?

The Sunshine Protection Act of 2021 is chief among daylight saving time legislation.

If passed by Congress, the bill would mean Americans no longer have to change their clocks twice a year. However, after passing the Senate in March 2022, the bill remains in the House and is not law.

Does Texas have plans to do away with daylight saving time?

Yes, at least in the Texas House.

House Bill 1442 would make it to where Texas would stay on daylight saving time year-round. The bill overwhelmingly passed in the House in April 2023 and went to the Senate, according to the Texas Tribune.

However, the Senate is as far as the bill went before the Texas legislative session ended in May.