Lawmakers’ move to make daylight saving time permanent has a dark side – a sunless winter morning.
But when will the new law push back the sunrise in California?
If Congress were to adopt daylight saving time year-round, eliminating the need to change the clocks twice a year, Los Angeles would see its latest sunrise of the year at 8 a.m.
Sacramento will see a late sunrise at 8:24 am, and San Francisco, 8:25 am Crescent City, on the northwestern edge of California? Sunrise at 8:44 am
Some parts of the country will also see a winter sunrise which will have children starting school at 8am possibly going to campuses in the dark. During daylight saving time, the latest sunrise in Miami will be at 8:09 am; Boston, 8:13 a.m.; Chicago and Houston, 8:18 am; New York City, 8:20 am; Philadelphia, 8:23 am; Washington, 8:27 am; Dallas, 8:30 am; Atlanta, 8:43 am; Minneapolis, 8:51 a.m.; Seattle, 8:58 am; and Detroit, at 9:02 am
Some areas will see a later sunrise. The capital of North Dakota, Bismarck, and Glacier National Park in Montana will see sunrise at 9:28 am.
Taking out an hour of sunlight in the morning, of course, means getting it back in the evening.
The benefit of the time of year to save daylight can be the 5:44 pm sunset just after Thanksgiving in Los Angeles – the joy of Angelenos who are unhappy with the 4:44 pm sunset as winter approaches. San Francisco will see its first sunset at 5:51 pm in late November and early December, when it is now 4:51 pm standard time.
New York City will see its first sunset at 5:28 pm during daylight saving time, instead of 4:28 pm.
The debate over daylight saving time is an old one, but it was reinvigorated by the House of Representatives’ vote last week, bipartisan 308 to 117, on a measure to make daylight saving time standard across much of the nation. Places that already do not observe daylight saving time – such as Arizona and Hawaii – will be able to stay on standard time forever.
The sponsor of this bill in the Senate, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), called changing the clocks twice a year an unnecessary outrage.
“I hear from Americans all the time that they are sick and tired of changing their clocks twice a year — it’s an unnecessary, decades-old practice that has created and upset families,” Scott said in a statement. “Even an extra hour in the evening means more time to play with your kids.”
The idea has come up before. The so-called winter daylight saving time was temporarily suspended in 1974. But it was unpopular, and Congress returned to regular session later that year. “Daylight saving time is generally popular with the public, but not during the winter months of November through February,” said a 1974 House report. Among the concerns was that schools had to delay the start of classes “due to dark morning problems.”
The Los Angeles Times reported in 1974 that crossing guards at many LA County schools had to be given flashlights to help children walk to school.
Of the current 51 members of the House from California – there is one vacancy – the time of the year is supported by 42, that is, 33 Democrats, all eight Republicans and one independent. Of the nine who opposed the measure, all were Democrats – Nanette Diaz Barragán, Judy Chu, Mark DeSaulnier, Jimmy Gomez, Sydney Kamlager-Dove, Sam Liccardo, Ted Lieu, Zoe Lofgren and Mark Takano.
It is not clear, however, that there is enough support in the Senate for the measure to pass.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) has expressed opposition to interfering with the current system.
“By turning the clocks back an hour in the winter, daylight saving time can push sunrise to twelve o’clock in the winter, depriving Americans of the morning sunlight that is essential to our safety and well-being,” Cotton said last year. He said he would oppose any efforts to adopt daylight savings year-round.
Under the House-approved bill, lawmakers in California and other states could opt out of making daylight saving time permanent but would have to decide before the law takes effect. In 2018, California voters approved Proposition 7, which gave the Legislature the authority to mandate year-round daylight saving time — but only if the federal government allows states to do so. Current federal law prohibits states from implementing year-round daylight saving time.
Proposition 7 was passed by a majority, with 60% voting in favor of the proposition.
“Americans are sick of going back and forth. More daylight after work means more businesses and more active, safer California communities,” said Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) in a statement last year. “Californians have already voted years ago to lock the clock — and it’s time for Congress to do the same.”
President Trump has said he will sign full daylight savings into law if passed by Congress.
One area that recently adopted daylight saving time is British Columbia.
The Canadian province said it will permanently enter daylight saving time in March and will not return clocks to standard time in November. As a result, Vancouver’s latest sunrise will be 9:07 am, but in return, its earliest sunset will be 5:13 pm instead of 4:13 pm.
Another idea would be to keep California on a regular schedule, which is allowed under federal law. But that would mean saying goodbye to daylight during California summer days.
This year, due to daylight saving time, Los Angeles sees sunsets at 8 pm or later from June 1 to July 25. Standard Time would make the latest Los Angeles sunset of the year at 7:09 pm.
In San Francisco this year, sunsets at 8 pm or later occur from May 1 to Aug. 17. Standard Standard Time would make San Francisco’s latest sunset of the year at 7:36 pm.
Mexico ended daylight saving time in 2022 like most countries, opting to stay with standard time all year round. But some border towns, as well as Baja California, keep daylight saving time.
The areas of the world where daylight saving time is most common are North America and Europe. But the practice of changing the clocks twice a year is uncommon elsewhere in the world, according to the Pew Research Center.
In 2018, there was a proposal for the European Union to end the practice of changing the clocks twice a year to switch between standard time and daylight saving time. No final decision has been made.
Times staff writer Iris Kwok contributed to this report.
