Texans set their clocks back an hour early Sunday, even though the state already has a law on the books that would end the twice-a-year switch.
House Bill 1393, signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025, says Texas "shall observe daylight saving time year-round" and that the state's time "shall be referred to as Texas Time." But the law takes effect only if Congress passes legislation allowing Texas to stay on daylight time all year. If Congress never does, the bill says, it has no effect.
Federal law lets a state stay on standard time permanently, as Hawaii and most of Arizona do, but it does not let a state stay on daylight time without congressional approval.
Halfway through Congress
The U.S. House passed the Sunshine Protection Act, H.R. 139, on July 14 by a vote of 308 to 117, according to the House Clerk's roll call. The bill would keep the country on daylight time year-round, and states could exempt themselves before it takes effect, NBC News reported.
Texas' House members voted 30 to 7 for it. The no votes came from Democrats Greg Casar, Lloyd Doggett, Veronica Escobar, Sylvia Garcia and Marc Veasey and from Republicans Chip Roy and Keith Self, the roll call shows.
The Senate has not voted. Supporters, including President Donald Trump, have pressed for action, while Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., has objected.
Cotton has warned of winter mornings in parts of the country where the sun would not rise until 9 a.m. or later, NBC News reported, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune told the network, "I just don't think we want a mandate, and that was tried once before and repealed, but we're looking at it."
Bills that have not passed both chambers expire when the current Congress ends in early January 2027, International Business Times reported Sunday. Supporters would then have to start over in both chambers.
