A daylight saving time primer as House OKs measure to make it year-round

Fall back, spring ahead?

On Tuesday the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Sunshine Protection Act, a measure to enact year-round daylight saving time. The U.S. Senate needs to approve the move before President Donald Trump could sign it into law. What then? Well, the move would eliminate the need to change your clocks twice a year, though it might affect a host of time schedules in your life — everything from fall and winter school start and end times to when your federal, state or local park opens and closes.

Or even the time your favorite fall and winter sporting event takes place.

Some basics on daylight saving time:

What is daylight saving time?

First suggested by Benjamin Franklin in a tongue-in-cheek proposal in 1784, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration notes daylight saving time is "a human-made convention, not an astronomical phenomenon" — and that it was implemented to compensate for shifts in daylight hours on a seasonal basis caused by Earth's tilt as it orbits the Sun. In lay terms: to ensure we start our days closer to sunrise in the fall and winter months instead of beginning them in total darkness.

What's the history of daylight saving time?

That's complicated. It was first instituted by the United States and Canada, dictated by railroad schedules in 1883. Its usage became U.S. law with the Standard Time Act in March 1918, which was repealed a year later. It was reestablished during World War II, then eliminated following the war in 1945, only to be reinstated with the passage of the Uniform Time Act of 1966. That's not all the chaos. The start, end and time-change dates have varied many times since: In 1974, it began on Jan. 6, then the first Sunday in April in 1987. Since 2007, federal law has mandated we move clocks ahead one hour at 2 a.m. on the second Sunday in March, then move them back one hour at 2 a.m. on the first Sunday in November.

Is daylight saving time universal?

No. Only about one-third of the world uses it, almost exclusively in North America and Europe; most of Asia, Africa and South America ignore these clock resets. By the way, it isn't even universal in the United States: Arizona, Hawaii and the American territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands and American Samoa all opt out of daylight saving time changes — though the Navajo Nation in Arizona does observe it.

How does daylight saving time affect sunrise and sunset on Long Island?

In the Eastern time zone, winter sunrise might not take place until after 8 a.m. if the so-called Sunshine Protection Act were to become law. But, winter sunsets might be delayed an hour as well — meaning in the dead of winter, Long Islanders might see sunsets at 5:30 p.m. instead of 4:30 p.m.

How might year-round daylight saving time affect your life and well-being?

Officials at the Suffolk County Department of Health Services declined to comment on the proposed measure, while the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation "does not comment on pending legislation." But some medical experts believe a standard year-round clock might benefit sleep habits, while others claim some people might be forced to battle sleep and work schedules in conflict with dramatic shifts in daylight hours. As a result, state officials admit exploring the need to rethink start and closing times based on the shift we'll see in sunrises and sunsets in the fall and winter. Current spring and summer times would not be affected, while the start time of winter school days and park and museum hours might change.

What other activities might be affected?

The National Hockey League is exploring schedule changes after the Canadian provinces of Alberta and British Columbia announced they're moving to permanent year-round daylight saving time this fall. With teams in Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton, the NHL likely needs to adjust time slots for TV doubleheader broadcasts featuring teams in the Eastern and Western time zones. Commissioner Gary Bettman has said publicly, "We'll deal with it." Other sports could also be affected by a change in sunrises and sunsets, notoriously football fan tailgate parties.

What other activities and organizations might be affected? 

Officials admit the move to year-round daylight saving time could force a rethink on everything from police patrol times to outdoor winter work and construction schedules, in addition to those school start and end times and transit schedules. No wonder Ben Franklin first proposed all this as a joke.

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a Newsday reporter since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press, Society of the Silurians and National Headliner Awards for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing. He is the author of “Swee'pea,” about New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. His debut crime novel, “For Nothing Is Hidden,” rooted in 1950s Long Island, was released in October 2025.